To Life
by Old Romantic
Summary: Challenge fic. Mick and Beth face an unexpected role of parenthood. Post 1x12 The Mortal Cure.
1. Prologue: Mortality

**Title:** To Life  
**Author: **Em aka Old Romantic  
**Rating: PG-13/T  
****Genre/Ship: **Romance, angst, comedy; total, unadulterated fluff/MickBeth  
**Timeline/Spoilers: **Post-1x12-The Mortal Cure  
**Disclaimer: **Move along. No money being made here. The only thing of value in regards to this story is reader reviews.

**Summary: **In response to the challenge set forth by Garnet on MickBeth Fanfiction (mickbeth (dot) fan-sites (dot) org). Mick and Beth face an unexpected role of parenthood.

**A/N: **I wasn't going to do this one. Really, I wasn't. I wrote a similar fic in a fandom (_Alias_) some years ago and didn't want to go down this road. But the muse had other ideas and wouldn't shut up. So, here's my offering. Hope you like it. :)

Side note: I'm writing this on the idea that the cure is "mortal itself" as Coraline suggested, meaning, it dies when they do. Not sure exactly what TPTB have in mind for how long it lasts – I'm spoiler-free and wish to remain that way – and I thought that this was just easier, especially since it seemed that Coraline "died" at the hospital before she turned back. I just thought it necessary to explain where I and this fic stood.

That being said, enjoy!

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Prologue: **Mortality

The minister's words during the opening of Josh's funeral rang through Mick's mind throughout the entire ceremony, and he missed much of the rest of the priest's eulogy. Those words alone had been too poignant for the reality that Mick was currently going through, and each point held so much meaning.

_We're all mortal. _For the first time in fifty-five years, Mick could associate himself into this group again. He was mortal. Despite the nagging issues following behind that truth, such as the mortality of the human cure itself, and the fact that he was at a funeral of a man he considered a friend – another one he'd outlived – Mick felt incredibly gleeful about that fact. He was human again.

He'd told Josef after he'd discovered the truth of his friend's true love that he believed that anything was possible, just because Josef himself had loved a human. Again, he felt that way now. _Anything_ was possible. He could eat and co-mingle in the sunlight, sleep at night, in a _bed_, and as long as he didn't do anything irresponsible enough to get himself humanly killed, he might live a long life as a mortal. He could do _anything_…like confess his love to the woman in his life.

Mick's eyes darted to watch Beth dry away her tears as she said goodbye to a few other mourners and she glanced up at him, and was quickly distracted by more friends of Josh who wanted to pass on their regrets. He wondered briefly if she'd heard his thoughts in that moment their eyes had met. But that was ridiculous, so he pushed it from his mind. _Tell her_, his heart screamed, but his will wouldn't budge. _Not now_, he answered back, reminding his heart, _she's just lost a man she loved._

His heart replied with another quote from the minister: _Our time is limited. _

Feeling as though that particular comment was put in place _just_ for his sake, Mick could feel the truth in it. His time was extremely limited; especially if he counted the number of times he would've died over the last five decades had he been human. Coraline had warned him that the cure was mortal, meaning that when he died, so would the cure, and he'd be back to living the rest of eternity as a vampire. _I'll have to be more careful. No more dodging bullets._

The only exception would be if Beth was in danger. No matter what, he couldn't lose her.

_It's part of what allows us to love and hurt. _

Mortality. Something he'd dreamt of for fifty years, thought was forever lost to him for the majority of those, and the wish he dared to hope for since re-meeting Beth as an adult. He'd always pictured her as that child he'd rescued and restored to her mother…until she looked at him differently. She made his undead heart beat again, and made him feel alive when there was no life. There was something in her eyes, something that filled his whole body with warmth and a love he would've never allowed himself to feel. And it was far beyond what a victim feels for her rescuer. Respect, admiration, and gratitude – all of those emotions were behind her eyes, but there was more. She made him believe that anything was possible before he ever dared to reach for something so distant and irrational in his own mind and heart.

_And in the end, it inspires us…_

His heart swelled as he watched Beth smile weakly to an elderly lady as she held her hand and chatted with her. He knew that Beth needed to know his feelings, mostly for his sake. He'd hate himself if he didn't take the chance. But he had to be patient and allow her to mourn Josh and whatever they had. When it was the right time, he'd know it.

_Make the most of the time we are given._

That was the line that was repeated the most in his mind since it had been spoken. Yes, his time was certainly precious, and he didn't want to ruin it by doing or saying the wrong thing. It all had to be perfect and beautiful, just like her. No, he wasn't naïve enough to think that she didn't have her flaws and imperfections; he just knew that she was worth making each and every moment as special as she.

_Make the most_…

His now-living heart sped up a beat when Beth appeared to be out of those who wanted to greet her. The crowd was thinning out, and she looked up at him again. Pulled by an invisible force, the two walked toward each other, meeting in the middle. Neither spoke for a moment, and then Mick thought out loud, "It was a nice service."

"Yes, it was," she agreed. "Reverend James was a friend of Josh's. He used to counsel Josh when he was frustrated or restless with his casework."

"Oh, I didn't know that. How nice that he could perform the ceremony," Mick commended and she nodded. There was another long pause and Mick felt it had to be said, "I really am sorry about Josh—"

She stepped forward and hushed him by putting a hand on his arm. "No, please, don't be. You were right – you did everything you could."

Mick tried to ignore the long-forgotten sensation of feeling another human's touch on his human flesh and stared into her eyes, afraid to breathe. "I should go," he finally spoke and she slowly dropped her hand. "If you need anything…"

She nodded again. "I will call," she promised. He took a step back and turned to leave. "Mick," she called out when he was just a few feet away and he stopped to look at her beautiful face once more. "Thank you," she stated sincerely, and he knew that she was referring to his help with Josh along with much more.

He bobbed his head and half-smiled, and then limped his way back to his car. For the first time in fifty-five years, he felt like a young man with his whole life before him yet to live.


	2. Chapter 1: Tea and Confessions

**Chapter 1: **Tea and Confessions

He didn't expect to hear from Beth anytime soon, so when Mick got a knock on his door a few days after the funeral and didn't have the door camera on to see who was calling, he assumed it was the delivery men with the new bed he'd purchased. So he swung the door open wide and stood there for a moment, briefly in shock.

"Sorry to drop by unannounced," Beth greeted him.

"No, don't be," he smiled at her. "I told you to come by if you needed anything. Is there something I can do?"

Her expression was timid and she stood ringing her hands in front of herself as if at the beginning of a first date. "Can I…come in?"

"Sure, of course," he replied typically, allowing her to come inside so he could shut the door. "Can I…get you something? A drink? Water, iced tea, beer?"

She cracked a smile. "I see things have changed around here."

"Yeah, you should see my 'fridge," he joked. "It's full."

"Iced tea would be nice," she answered his question and they both moved in the direction of the kitchen. She caught a glimpse of the stuff packed into his refrigerator through the clear door and commented, "Wow, you weren't kidding. You know, you should probably watch your weight."

"I know," he chuckled as he got out the container of tea and reached for a glass in an adjacent cabinet. "The first night, I ate like a pig. I ordered everything I could remember missing and ate it all in one sitting. Now I'm being more conservative and I'm still working out to 'keep my figure'," he teased and she laughed, reminding him of the most beautiful sound in the world. "I'm just afraid to crave something and be out of it, so I'm staying well-stocked."

"That's a good idea," she assured him as he poured her a glass of tea and handed it to her. She then watched as he put the tea away and pulled a beer bottle from a six-pack in the refrigerator, opened it, and took a swig. "Looks like you're starting to feel like your old self again."

"Fifty years too late, yeah." He took another sip and set the bottle down, leaning with both palms on the counter. "But I'm…guessing you didn't come over to see how I'm handling mortality," he mildly teased, lifting his eyebrows inquisitively.

"No," she dropped her eyes and toyed with her glass. "I mean, I have been curious, but… What I really wanted to talk to you about was…Coraline." She took a sip of her drink to help swallow down her anxiety.

"Coraline?" he parroted, just as there was another knock on the door. Beth's expression didn't mask her annoyance at being interrupted again – last time by Coraline herself – but he assured her with a palm raised, "I'm having a bed delivered. It's probably them."

"Oh," she perked up a bit, and leaving her tea, she followed him to the front door.

Sure enough, three burly, sweaty men in jeans and t-shirts bearing their company's name came in with a king-sized bed frame and mattress set. Mick instructed them to take it upstairs and then followed them, with Beth trailing interestedly. The gray door that Mick had humorously warned her about in the past was wide open…and the freezer she knew he kept there was gone. The bedroom where he'd had workout equipment and a big screen TV and a recliner all spread out was now pushed off to the side or stowed away somewhere. Beth wondered if his walk-in closet was just as packed full of stuff as his refrigerator.

She stood back and watched as the bed was put together; the headboard and railings were attached; the plastic was torn off of the mattress and box-springs, and the room began to look homey. When they were through, Mick signed a paper on their clipboard and thanked the delivery men. He walked them to the stairs and made sure they got out okay, and then came back to the newly furnished, appropriately-named bedroom and stood beside Beth to take it in.

"Your freezer's gone," she revealed that she'd noticed and Mick smiled.

"I gave it to Josef. You know, since he has to start over with a new name and place."

She turned her head to look up at him and smiled. "You have a regular apartment now."

"I know," he grinned back. "It's weird, isn't it?"

"No," she surprised him. "It's normal. And you do deserve it." She focused on the bare mattress again. "Do you have sheets?"

"Yeah, I bought some after I got the bed."

"Go get them. I'll help you make it," she proposed.

"Oh no," he waved away her offer. "I'll do it later. You wanted to talk."

"We can talk while we work."

Since she was so insistent and he was anticipating having his bedroom completed, Mick gave in and retrieved the sheets and comforter from his closet. He shook out the freshly laundered, new fitted sheet from its folds and Beth rounded the bed, catching the other side.

As they worked to fit the sheet over the corners of the mattress, he began, "So, what did you want to know about Coraline?"

She took a moment to answer. "Not much. I mean, obviously, she was the one that gave you the cure. But, uh… Where did she go after that?"

Mick's memory ached for his former wife. "She was taken back to her family by her brother. I assume they're going to punish her."

Beth's head shot up. "Punish her? For what?"

"For bringing me into the bloodline without their permission."

"I don't understand," she shook her head.

He picked up the flat sheet and shook it out as well. "Coraline was part of a royal bloodline, including King Louis the Sixteenth."

"What?" she asked incredulously.

Since he could see the curiosity in her eyes, he went ahead with the long story Coraline had told him about the infamous Reign of Terror, how the temporary human cure she'd shared with him had been stolen from her brother, and how desperate Lance was to get it back. When he was through, Beth still stood dumbfounded, taking it all in.

"Wow, I would've never known…"

"Neither would I," he admitted. "And when Coraline first told me the whole story, she left out that she was part of the family."

"And you never knew this? Not when she first turned you?"

"Not until the night she cured me."

She absorbed that as well, bending down to straighten the sheet on her side. Mick busied himself by taking the new comforter out of its bag. "Was there more you wanted to know?" he asked without looking up.

"Yeah, I, uh…" She grasped the other edge of the blanket as he shook it over the bed and set to work by putting it in place as she talked. "Is… Is she coming back?"

"I…I doubt it. Why do you ask?"

She temporarily avoided the question by asking him if he had pillows and waiting for him to come back with those and the cases. But once they were working across the bed from each other again, he didn't allow the subject to drop. "Why do you want to know if Coraline is coming back?"

"I guess I… I just want to know…if she's mad at me. You know, for what I did to her."

Mick's face scrunched curiously, and he wondered if that was _really_ what she was going to say. "No, I don't think she is. I think she's more afraid that you still hate her for kidnapping you as a child."

"No. I don't," Beth blinked, and the information surprised Mick, if only slightly. "If she hadn't," she paused as she set the pillow in place on her side, "I wouldn't have met you."

She didn't hear any reaction from him so she looked up to see if she could tell what he was thinking from his expression. But he was momentarily speechless and was just staring at her with an incredible warmth coming from his eyes. "I'm not going after her," he spoke finally, as if relieving her from having to ask that question as well. "Her fate is her own."

"But I thought you still loved her."

"I did once. I don't anymore. I haven't really loved her since she turned me," he confessed. "Yeah, we had passion and there were good moments, but they aren't enough to keep me committed to her forever. She knew that when she gave me the cure."

"So, even if she were here…"

"Coraline and I will never be together again," he vowed, making the statement final. Then he repeated the question she hadn't truly answered, "Why do you want to know?"

Beth made her way around the foot of the bed to slowly walk past him, crossing her arms on her chest, and keeping her back to him as she talked and pretended to find interest in a modernist painting on his wall. "Remember when I told you that if Josh had proposed, I wouldn't have known how to answer?"

"Yes," he spoke with bated breath. What was she getting at?

"Th-the reason I-I…I…didn't know was because…he wasn't the man I…I wanted," she struggled to get out. "There's been someone else for months."

"Who?" Mick found himself asking, praying to any god out there that there wasn't a third man vying for her love.

"I just didn't know how to end things with Josh," she went on, ignoring his question. "We had so much history, and I really did love him for most of that time. It's just that things had changed."

"Beth," he felt a bit more empowered. "Who is it?"

She lifted a hand rubbed at her eyes. "I shouldn't be doing this. Josh was going to propose to me, and he's barely cold in the ground, and I'm already trying to move on to someone else."

His heart was pounding now, and it didn't even occur to him that it was a new sensation in his now mortal body. "I think that's what he'd want, Beth. As long as you were happy." He moved a foot closer to her and repeated quietly but with a touch more firmness and empathy, "Who is it?"

She continued to avoid answering his question. "I wouldn't even be saying anything, except the words that damn priest said at the funeral keep pounding in my head. 'Our time is limited. Make the most of the time we are given.'" She sighed. "I know the timing is right on the one hand, but on the other," she took a breath, "it seems selfish and insensitive to Josh's memory."

Instead of protesting what she was saying, Mick understood her perfectly. "I know exactly what you mean. I've been thinking the same thing."

She lifted her head to the right so that he could see the side of her face. "You have?"

He nodded, moving toward her side by a few steps. "And not just about Josh, but Coraline too. She gave me this gift of mortality – even though it's temporary – to me out of love. And I don't even feel all that guilty that I'm using the time I have for selfish reasons instead of going to search for her as repayment."

"Selfish reasons?"

"Love," he stated simply. "Sharing my love with…another woman."

She hesitated asking, but did so softly, "A-anyone I know?"

He smiled, knowing that she couldn't be that clueless. "Very well. She changed my life when I found her twenty-two years ago."

Their gazes locked, Mick noticed when the tears began to form in Beth's eyes. And try as she might, she was fighting a losing battle against them. She blinked to try to think rationally. "Isn't it wrong, though, to trample on their memory?" she asked. "Shouldn't there be a long period of mourning their loss to us?"

"I don't know," he almost whispered, full of emotion himself. "All I do know is that I'm afraid we'll lose our chance if we wait. We have to do what Reverend James said and make the most of the time we have. We can't afford to dance around our feelings anymore, Beth. We don't have that kind of time to waste. I'm sorry if it's too soon, but I can't stop the way I've felt for the past four months. I love you," he added in one, final, breathless confession.

Frozen except for the tears, Beth stared at him unmoving. "What about the cure? How temporary is it?" she managed to get out, even though it appeared she was now trembling.

"It'll live as long as I do. And as long as I have life, I want you in it." He paused, keeping their distance so as not to overwhelm her because he knew he was about to with his words, while she finally reached up to dry her cheeks. "Marry me."

Beth's face paled and she stared blankly at him; wiping her tears had become a memory. "What?" she mumbled out in shock.

He closed the distance between them and reached out to grasp one of her hands with both of his. "I've been thinking about this the last few days and…I know it's soon. But, the last few months, I've been _so_ jealous of Josh's presence in your life… Now that we have our chance, I want to marry you; I want you to be a permanent fixture in my life. I'm going to love you for the rest of our lives and for all of my eternity anyway and, if you love me too, why shouldn't we spend what time we have together?" He realized that theirs were special circumstances and it also needed to be stated, "I won't hold you to our commitment once I've turned back. It'll take death to make me immortal again, and that would be a breach of our vows. I'd let you go; you'd be just as free as any other widow."

She suddenly chuckled out of turn, considering the moisture on her face. She squeezed his hand in hers. "If you're trying to sell me on marriage, talking about the end of it is kind of a mood-killer."

He smiled with her and then clarified, "I just didn't want you to think that I'd make you stick around for my eventual, immortal death. Forever is a long time to wait for that."

"Who says I won't kill you myself for leaving the toilet seat up or forgetting to pay the electric bill?"

She was clearly thinking of the lighter side of life as a _normal _couple would. Then it hit him that they were basically that. "Is that a yes?"

She bit her lip, thinking. "What about kids?" she asked first.

"What about them?"

"Can…we have a baby?"

Mick's bliss crashed when it hit the brick wall she'd thrown up and he let go of her hand to put his on his hips. He honestly hadn't thought about the possibility of Beth wanting to have a family – something he'd thought for sure was long-gone to him in the great scheme of things. "I-I…" he stalled, hoping that he'd come up with some kind of an answer that would satisfy her.

"You _are_ human, right?" He managed a nod. "That means that all of your human capabilities should be back to normal?" Another, more reluctant nod. "Then, if you're going to live until you die, just like other humans, why can't you have a family like other humans?"

She made a good point, and he couldn't argue it. "I…don't have the answer that you're looking for, Beth. I can't even fathom the consequences that would arise if we had a child and I died and turned back…"

"We would deal with that if we had to, with whatever seemed best for all of us," she encouraged.

"And what about the child's safety? What if I couldn't protect him?"

Her gaze softened in compassion. "I think you could. You protected me through all of my childhood. Why would ours be any different?"

"He'd have a vampire for a father, Beth. That alone would put him in danger."

She closed her eyes when she felt like she was losing the argument. "It's something to think about at least. Will you?"

"If you marry me, then yes," he countered.

"When?"

He shrugged a shoulder. "Whenever. There's no time like the present. Every second spent waiting is a second lost to us."

She quickly agreed, speaking her thoughts, "The courthouse is open today. I'm sure we could get Alison at Bionalysis to rush the blood tests, and we could get married before the day is through."

Mick slowly smiled when he realized she was accepting his proposal _and_ his timing…and they had yet to kiss to seal the deal. Recognizing this, he stepped forward, wrapped one arm around her waist and reached the other up to cup her face, drying her cheek with his thumb for a moment before drawing her lips to his.

The kiss was so much better than the one they'd shared before, when she'd caught him off-guard and pecked his lips in an impetuous gesture of the nearness she felt at the time. She didn't even really give him a chance to respond – only slightly with her second kiss. But this one… Within a second, her lips were parted and she tasted him in a way she'd never dreamed. And he was human and so ruggedly masculine and sexy; her hands were quickly around his waist, pulling him closer to her body.

But there was much more to her attraction to him than just the physical. She was in love with him, and there hadn't been much denying that for weeks. Josh had just been a stumbling block; even as much as she cared for him, she knew he would've been gone from her life soon even if he hadn't died so tragically. She had been planning what to say in her break-up speech for a while and just hadn't yet had the courage to spit the words out. But how could she have gone through with it? As proven by her actions since Josh's death, she'd had to step out of her comfort zone and vulnerably confess her feelings for Mick in the hopes that he would return them. It hadn't been easy…but as she readjusted her mouth on his, she knew it had been extremely worth it.

Mick pulled away slightly just to look at her face for a moment before capturing her lips once more, now dropping his hands from her cheeks to wrap them around her. Beth could feel the change in the mood from bliss to passion and even though she fought it, her mind thought rationally.

She broke away, out of breath, and begged, "Mick, wait." She swallowed and tried to calm her pounding heart, blinking her heavy lids up at him. "We'll have plenty of time for this later…if we hurry."

Knowing she was talking about getting married as soon as possible, Mick slowly and genuinely smiled, shrugging as he asked, "Then what are we waiting for?"


	3. Chapter 2: Making the Most

**A/N:** So sorry I didn't get this posted last week as I'd hoped - it was sincerely crazier than I thought it would be. Thanks for the many kind reviews so far! To all of you (including those who just subscribed for the story alert), I hope you continue to like what I have planned for this story. Smooches to **htbthomas** for the beta!

Thanks again for reading and enjoy!!

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**Chapter 2:** Making the Most

They were third in a line of three couples waiting to go in to be married on the spot. One young couple was surrounded by what looked like were their parents. It looked like an old-fashioned "shotgun" wedding, since the teenage girl was just starting to show in pregnancy. The second couple was an odd match; him, tall and skinny, her, short and chunky. Beth inwardly thought of that childhood rhyme: _Jack Sprat could eat no fat; his wife could eat no lean._ She wondered if that would be true in their future marriage.

But most of her focus was on the man she was to marry. Since they'd filled out and turned in their paperwork, all they had left to do was wait. They waited in silence, with Beth's arm hooked around his, leaning into him. At one point, she had her chin propped on his shoulder, just staring at the way his five o'clock stubble was beginning to appear on his face. She reached up with her free hand and ran it along his jaw, garnering his attention. That's when it occurred to her to whisper, "I love you. I don't think I said that before."

"No, you didn't," he divulged. "And since you agreed to marry me, I thought it didn't matter." He paused and she saw his mouth curve up on her side. "It does."

"When you met me as a child," she wondered, "did you think then that we would someday fall in love?"

"No," he answered honestly. "You were a child. I just wanted to protect you, especially from Coraline. After that, watching over and protecting you became a habit. But doing that changed who I was."

"You started helping people more," she recalled him saying that once before. Then she furrowed her eyebrows, thinking out loud, "What did you do that was so terrible before?"

"Oh." He seemed to be taken aback by the question slightly, but appeared that he didn't want to hide anything from her. "Well, you know, with the way I had to live," he knew she'd understand what he meant, "I got what I needed fresh." He made sure the understanding was in his eyes before moving on. "I lived a lot like Josef still does."

"Egotistical with a side of hunger for human blood?" she teased. She'd made sure to drop her voice a notch, even though they were across the waiting area from the other people and it was unlikely they'd be heard.

In spite of himself and his friendship with the other vamp in question, Mick chuckled. "Yeah, exactly."

She peered at him thoughtfully. "I could see that."

"I'm glad you didn't," he confessed, reaching up with his free right hand to rest it on hers on his arm. "There were other things I'm not too proud of… But we can talk about that another time."

She knew what he meant; since it was evident he still carried so much guilt about the events of his life before Beth came into it. And why would they want to bring down their wedding day?

The first couple and their entourage of parents were called back to see the judge, and Mick waited until they'd passed before asking Beth, "Are you having any second thoughts?"

"Surprisingly, no. I thought that once we were sitting here, waiting to go in, I'd think of a thousand reasons why we shouldn't be doing this." She smirked. "But all I can think about is how much I want to get this over with so we can go back to your apartment and find out how comfortable that new mattress of yours is."

He stared at her with his eyebrows raised and smiled. "Sounds great." Then he corrected, "But, uh…after we do this, I hope it'll become '_our'_ apartment."

"Oh," she realized. "Yeah, of course."

The large group that had gone in the back soon came back out with the older women crying and the bride and groom looking shell-shocked. Beth and Mick watched as the elder men shook hands and took their wives by the shoulders to lead them out the door. Meanwhile, the groom scratched his head, as if wondering what he was supposed to do, until the bride's face brightened, she whispered something in his ear, and the two shot out of the room with some destination definitely in mind.

Once they were gone, Mick and Beth shared a chuckle, communicating what they think had just transpired, when there was a commotion across the room. The heavyset woman had stood up, but had knocked her chair over in the process, and the couple was clearly arguing. Their names were called, but they ignored it until she finally dug a set of papers out of her purse and slammed them on the counter, yelling, "Oh, forget it!" And she stormed out of the room. The groom sheepishly followed behind, but it appeared he didn't look regretful by her decision not to get married.

"Turner, St. John?" the clerk called out and Beth and Mick glanced up. It was their turn.

They followed the clerk down the hall to a type of conference room and were told to wait just a moment before being left alone. In less than a minute, before they could even think about sitting down to wait, another door opened, and a judge wearing his typical robe stepped through with a smile on his face. "Are you ready to get married?" he asked like a game show host, and the couple answered affirmatively. They passed over the paperwork and he scanned it for something, nodding when it all appeared in order. "Do you have rings?"

Mick nodded and dug the box from his pocket. On the way to the courthouse from Bionalysis, they'd stopped at a jewelry store and mutually chose a set without having to search for too long. Since Mick was used to wearing white gold and Beth preferred silver against her skin color, they settled on a white gold plain band set that had three small diamonds inset in the center. Beth had decided to forego having an engagement ring since 

their engagement had been so short before their marriage, accepting a pair of diamond earrings instead when Mick insisted she needed something else. She wore the earrings now in honor of the ceremony.

"Alright, if you're ready…" Judge Stone began once another clerk came in as a witness, giving them one last opportunity to back out. Neither made a sound. "We are here today to join you, Mick David St. John and you, Elizabeth Anne Turner in holy matrimony." He went on making sure that they were not under duress to make the decision, and went through their obligations as husband and wife, leading up to the vows. Then he had them repeat them, starting with Beth first.

She faced Mick and held his hands when it hit her – the enormity of the decision they were making. But she didn't hesitate when it was her turn to speak, "I, Elizabeth Anne Turner take you Mick David St. John, to be my lawful husband. To have and to hold, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, 'til death do us part."

Mick squeezed her hands on that last part and waited for his turn, repeating what she'd said with all of his heart. It was so different a feeling from when he married Coraline; he'd been so young and naïve then, when all he could think about was physical relations and passion and how that brought about love in his eyes.

But with Beth, he'd fallen in love with her over time; he just hadn't realized how much until he began associating with her as an adult and the love quickly fell into place. And here she was standing in front of him, promising to be his until one or both of them came to the end of their lives. He hadn't dared to hope that this day would ever come, especially so soon. He'd only known her as an adult for four months, but so much had transpired in that time. And they had yet to become intimate, unknowingly saving that for their married life. How special their first time would be as husband and wife!

He knew it was selfish to take a wife with the expectation that she would understand if and when he "died" and turned back to vampirism. What if she refused to let him go? No, he wouldn't stand for that. He could disappear, just as all vamps do eventually to stay off of the radar. Yes, he would miss her, but that's the price he'd have to pay for this beautiful and memorable event.

"Do you Elizabeth, take Mick to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love, honor, and cherish until death do you part?" the judge was asking when Mick came back to his senses.

"I do," she vowed, never breaking eye contact with Mick.

"And do you, Mick…"

He honestly meant each and every word, even if he didn't hear them all. "I do," he replied at the right time.

"Her ring," Judge Stone offered, handing it to Mick to put on her finger. "Repeat after me. With this ring…I thee wed."

"With this ring, I thee wed." Mick slipped the silver-colored ring onto her left hand.

"And now you, Elizabeth," he handed her the bigger of the two circles of silver. She was shaking as she took it and he assured her, "We're almost through. This is the last step."

She chuckled nervously and listened and repeated the significant words, staring deep into Mick's eyes, meaning them.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Still holding hands, the couple giggled anxiously, but took that step forward to seal the marriage with a kiss. Then they parted and stood back to look at the judge for his final words.

"Congratulations," he told them. "May you have a long and happy life together." Then he signed the papers, handed them a copy and passed the rest over to the clerk. "Goodbye now," the judge said hurriedly, and he slipped out the door with the other woman in tow.

Alone, Mick and Beth stood facing each other, and for a moment, Beth understood how that young couple before them had felt. But there was no regret present and she smiled up at Mick. "I guess that's it."

He nodded, feeling that same kind of stunned bliss for a moment. Then he realized exactly what he wanted to do next. Squeezing her hand in his, he suggested softly, "Let's go home."

* * *

The apartment was eerily quiet when the couple stepped inside and Beth set her small, overnight bag down on the floor. The quiet ironically matched their mutual, unplanned silence. They weren't cold to the commitment they'd just made; on the contrary, Beth had snuggled up to Mick for the entire car ride home, sitting in the middle of the bench seat, staring down at her ring and happily twirling it. Now, regardless of the fact that neither was inexperienced in the bedroom and intimacy was what they both ultimately wanted, they seemed as though they were a little nervous about consummating. Beth was contemplating the reasons why as Mick closed and locked the door behind them.

He spun and smiled and reached out for her, and she stepped into his arms, allowing him to plant kisses on her neck and face. "Mick?" she inquired before he reached her lips. "Are you hungry?"

"Famished," he teased as he started down the other side of her neck leading toward her shoulder.

"I was thinking maybe we could order in; have a nice candlelight dinner first…?"

His kisses stopped and he lifted his head to meet her eyes.

"It might help take some of the pressure off the evening," she offered and he understood.

He reluctantly pulled away, smiling to reassure her that everything was fine. "I'll get the menus and we'll decide what to eat."

Fifteen minutes later, the food was ordered and the couple was working together to set the table up as a romantic setting. Mick pulled out a bottle of red wine he had stashed away, and he opened the bottle to let it breathe while they waited. With everything in place, Beth retrieved her bag and told him, "I'm going to go change. I'll be down in a few minutes."

He nodded and watched her go, reminding himself that he loved her, she loved him, and they had all night to go to show it.

The food arrived before Beth was back downstairs, so Mick accepted it and paid, shutting and locking the door once more. But he wasn't prepared for the sight in front of him when he turned back toward the kitchen. Standing on the second to the last step was Beth, dressed as scantily as she had that night she'd been high on Black Crystal, wearing the very same, thin, black dress that he'd thought for sure was a nightie, and maybe it was. And even though he was even more attracted to her now when he was finally free to be, he did notice that there was something a little different and sexier about that dress than the first time he'd seen her wear it.

"If you really wanted to eat, you should've worn something that covered a little bit more," he openly flirted. "I cannot hold myself responsible for my actions during dinner."

She was grinning. "I wore this again for a reason. I have a confession to make – well, two actually. First, I shortened this dress since you saw it last," – that was the difference – "and two," she paused for effect, "I wasn't completely out of it that night."

He stopped a couple of feet in front of her and laughingly asked, shocked, "What?"

Beth gestured for him to continue on to the table with their food while she followed behind. "I would've never come over if it hadn't been for the drug, but…once I was here, I knew exactly what I wanted."

Setting the plastic bags with the styrofoam containers down on the table, he turned to face her. "Well…that's in the past," he reminded her. "Let's start our future."

He pulled out her chair and sat down at the end of the table beside her, and they worked together to serve their plates. Once that was done, he poured the wine and picked up his glass, and she followed his cue. "What should we drink to?" she asked.

He could only think of one thing that summed up all of the merit he wanted to honor in one word: "To life."

"To life," Beth repeated, clinking her glass against his. Then they each took a sip and picked up their forks to begin to eat. Beth watched Mick take his first bite with interest. "It just occurred to me that I've never seen you eat."

He waited until he'd chewed and swallowed before answering. "I have to remember my table manners because it's been so long. I hope you'll forgive me if I slip up."

"Why not? You've forgiven my need for more time before we…" She couldn't seem to finish the statement, even though they both knew where the evening was headed.

He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it, sensing her thoughts. "We have a lot of time."

"What if we don't?" she suddenly realized. "What if you get into a car accident or someone on a case catches you—"

"I've already promised that I'll be careful. No more dangerous cases. You come first."

She hadn't quite made her point. "We could've died on the way here, Mick, and then we never would've been able to share our love."

"What are you saying?" he asked confusedly. She still had yet to take a bite of her food.

She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling overwhelmed by emotion and random thoughts, but the gist of them told her what she needed to do, for both of their sakes.

Rising to her feet, she held Mick's gaze as she reached back to unzip her dress. His line of sight dropped to her chest as she pulled down the straps and slipped the dress off, down, revealing her bare breasts. "Beth," he tried to stop and assure her that she needn't rush for his sake, but she shushed him, continuing her striptease.

When she pushed the dress past her hips to drop it to the floor, he got a real surprise, in that she was wearing absolutely nothing else underneath. He set his napkin down on the table and rose to his feet in response, gingerly taking her into his arms. There he kissed her, pulling her tight against his body, responding the only way a man knew how.

She began fumbling for the buttons on his shirt until he pulled his body away just enough for her to get both hands in position to do so. She undid each one, making her way down; and when she reached his jeans, she didn't stop, pushing the button through its hole and carefully unzipping the fly.

The mood quickly changed from desire to need to fiery passion and the rest of the clothes were pulled off on a short but stumbling journey to the couch. Their first time was hurried but feverish and full of love, and they soon lay in a twisted pile of sated bliss. Mick was still out of breath when he began to chuckle, garnering Beth's curiosity.

She asked what he was thinking, and he replied, "I bought a bed, thinking and dreaming of the moment we would finally be together…and we made love for the first time on this couch," he spoke lightheartedly, and she saw the humor and laughed with him.

"Yeah, well, look at me. I was hungry, made you order food for our first dinner as a married couple, and didn't even take one bite, and let it get cold while we made love on the couch." She added, "And I'm still hungry!"

"Well, at least we got the first time out of the way – dinner should be a lot easier to get through," he thought out loud, lightly pushing a strand of hair away from her face with his fingertips. "We'll reheat the food and eat it, and then go upstairs for the rest of the night. How's that sound?"

"Wonderful," she admitted, keeping her arms around his neck and closing her eyes. "But…let's wait just a couple more minutes."

He was thrilled to be able to forever please her.

When they did eventually get up, Beth took his shirt to wear instead of her tight dress, so Mick slipped on his jeans again, sitting back down at the table shirtless when their meals were reheated. And he was right: eating their dinner was a lot more comfortable than it had been before they succumbed to the passion in spite of themselves. They managed to eat it all and clean up, and Mick caught up to Beth as she was picking up her dress from the floor where she'd left it.

He spun her around in his arms, holding her by the waist. "You shouldn't bend over like that in front of your husband."

Her heart warmed and she bit her lip as she slipped her arms around his neck and the realization hit her for the first time. "You're my husband," she blinked in amazement.

"You're my wife," he stated likewise, swaying with her in his arms, lightly kissing her lips. "At least for as long as I'm a human."

She closed her eyes, holding her forehead against his. "Mmm, let's not talk about that now. I want to go upstairs and finish what we started, and check out that new bed."

"Mm," he practically growled. "So do I."

"Well, come on then," she spoke in a teasing voice, and moved out of his arms to coerce him up the stairs.

But unlike the last time she'd done that, he didn't wait until she was out of sight to follow her, and instead captured her only a couple of steps up, spinning her around to kiss her deeply. She moaned in his kiss, and he knew she wanted him as much as he did her. So he scooped her up into his arms, causing her to gasp in his mouth, and he carried her up the stairs, where the two would become one as God had intended.


	4. Chapter 3: Back to Life

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to post this – what with out-of-town trips and preparing-our-house-to-sell stress. Hopefully, I'll have the next couple of chapters finished, edited, beta'd, and posted without too much fuss. Thanks so much for your wonderful reviews!!

Many thanks to **embitca **(on LJ) for her insight on the name/location of the restaurant mentioned in the show that I'm using in this fic – without her help, I would've had it ALL wrong! And smooches to **htbthomas** for the beta!!

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 3: **Back to Life

"When did you realize you were in love with me?" Beth wondered as dawn approached. She was lying against Mick's chest and he was propped up on a pillow against the headboard. They'd been talking about everything in between spending all night getting physically acquainted.

"Hm," Mick murmured and stopped tickling her arm. "When you kissed me the first time."

She slapped a hand over her face in embarrassment, trying to hold back her laugh. "Ugh, I was so bold that night. What was _wrong_ with me?"

"I don't know. You tell me," he teased.

She chuckled, recalling that special evening that had ended so much differently than either of them had planned. "Actually, I know what it was," she then realized. "When I fed you," she paused, almost as if she didn't want to confess it, "it was…exhilarating."

"It was?"

She moaned, closing her eyes as she recalled that day. "They say that there's a fine line between pleasure and pain – I experienced it that day."

He hugged her tighter. "I felt differently after that too."

"You did? How?"

Mick's voice was quiet and serious. "Scared. I was afraid…"

"Of what?" she craned her neck to see his face.

"That I would eventually hurt you or turn you, even if it wasn't what you wanted."

"I don't think you would've ever done that," she comforted.

His face flinched in disagreement. "I wanted to _that_ day, and that's what scared me."

She slid her hand up his chest and neck to his face and guided his chin toward her. "But you didn't, and that's what matters." She took a contented breath and let it out. "I came by that night…" she started.

"I know," he let her in on that secret. "I was here. In fact, I was already on my way to the door when you knocked."

She smirked knowingly. "I thought you were home," she snuggled back against him, "and you just didn't want to answer."

"I could _feel _you that night, even through the door," he told her. "It was different than any time before that."

She took in a breath and let it out in contentment. "I love that we had that kind of connection." She changed the subject slightly, "Do you think that we still do?"

"We have so much more now, Beth," Mick reminded her, kissing the side of her head. "We have this."

She tilted her head back to receive his now-familiar kiss when her cell phone rang. Groaning, she rolled away from him and retrieved it from the floor beside the bed, pushing the button to answer. "Hello?" she greeted, and had to fight the pleasurable sensation of Mick's hand on her bare waist and his lips on her shoulder as he scooted close behind her.

It was her boss, Maureen – or "Mo" as she was known to her masses – and she was asking for Beth to come in. To her credit, Beth fought to keep from having to, reminding Mo that she was off until Monday, since she was "grieving" Josh, but eventually, she conceded. "Give me about an hour," she pleaded and her boss agreed.

She hung up the phone and dropped her arm to the bed, sighing. "I have to go in."

"I heard."

"Will you be mad if I go?"

"No," he promised, kissing her shoulder once more. "Actually, it'll give me a chance to return some phone calls I've been avoiding."

"Okay," she said, feeling a little better as she rolled to her back and stretched out underneath him. "I do have _some_ time…" she teased, slipping her arms around his neck. "How about a shower?"

She knew when he slowly grinned that he wasn't going to turn down _that_ offer.

* * *

A permanent smile was plastered on Beth's face as she walked from her car to the BuzzWire offices, and she even caught herself starting to hum. But when she reached for the outer door with her left hand and saw her ring, she knew she didn't want to have to explain her impromptu marriage to her colleagues just yet. Call it silliness, but she liked being able to share that secret just with Mick, at least for now.

Slipping the ring off her finger with a little struggle, she put it on her right hand's ring finger where it wouldn't attract as much attention. She was again wearing her engagement earrings as another more subtle reminder of her new committed relationship; and outwardly, she was prepared to face her coworkers. But the smile might've given her away, she knew, so she took a deep breath and put on her typical professional expression as she opened the door and stepped inside.

Mo accosted her before she even reached her desk and handed her a copy of a police report. Beth scanned the page and then wrenched her face. "You called me in to investigate your run-of-the-mill drive-by shooting?"

"Ah, I knew you'd say that," Mo proclaimed, holding up one finger. Then she revealed, "But I thought the M.O. sounded familiar, so I called one of our sister stations. A similar sixties-style Thunderbird was involved in a shooting in Seattle a few months ago."

Beth's eyes widened. "You think those same shooters are in L.A.?"

She nodded. "Matches the vehicle's description from this morning, plus, the Seattle shooters were never apprehended."

Sighing, Beth could taste the story there and knew she couldn't walk away from it, no matter how much she would've preferred running back to Mick's – _her new_ – apartment and spending the day in bed. "Okay, I'll look into a bit more and see if there are any other locations they might've been."

"That's my girl," Mo grinned and walked away.

* * *

Mick sighed as he went into his office, now having to spend the second day of his honeymoon alone. But it was his own fault – being spontaneous, not planning ahead, and getting wrapped up in the moment – not that he would trade what he had with Beth now for anything in the world. He was happy and alive and so was she, and that was plenty good enough.

And he hadn't been lying about the things he needed to get done while she was gone. There were at least two phone calls he'd been avoiding – one to collect money due him, and the other, to dispute an overcharged fee for some equipment he'd rented while on a case. When he checked his phone, he discovered a new call and possibly a new case, but he made sure to get the difficult calls out of the way first before moving on to the next one.

The new case was an intriguing one, if nothing else. His potential client, John Wyler, wanted a security system installed in his house and home office, since he'd been burglarized a few times. Wyler also wanted Mick to test the system by trying to break in himself. It was at times like this he wished he _did_ still have his vampire abilities, as it would prove that no _human_ could get in unwanted. But no. He could do just as good a job as a mortal, and he'd do his best to prove it.

Setting an appointment to meet with Wyler just after noon and check out his home to give him an estimate and suggestions for the type of security system he might need, Mick decided to spend the rest of the morning hours working out, since he'd been neglecting fitness more and more since he became human. Now knowing that his body would only get worse, he knew he had to take better care of it than that.

He got up from his desk and emptied his pockets, setting his cell phone down, when he realized that he might miss Beth if she tried to call…and he was suddenly struck with an idea. Picking up his phone, he called his cell…and changed his outgoing message.

* * *

Ten A.M. rolled around and Beth stretched, realizing she hadn't gotten up from her desk even once since she sat down to start her investigation. She made a quick trip to the restroom just for a break, and on her way back, pulled her cell phone from her pocket, dialing her newlywed husband's personal cell phone. She got his answering service and heard his voice: _"Hey, honey. I figured you'd be the only one to call me today, so I thought I'd leave you this message in case I wasn't able to answer the phone. If you think you've gotten this message by mistake, you probably have. This is just for the woman I love, my bride." _Beth could practically _hear_ his smile and it was infectious. _"I was wondering if you could take a break and have a late lunch with me today. Leave me a message to let me know. I love you."_ And then the phone clicked off and beeped.

Beth ducked into the empty conference room to reply. "Hey," her voice was soft. "I liked that message." She couldn't stop smiling. "But that was a little risky, don't you think? I mean, I know most of your calls go through your office, but what if Josef or Guillermo or one of your other friends calls you?"

She changed the subject, "Anyway, I would _love _to have lunch with you, but, unfortunately, I don't think I could get away. How about dinner instead? We could go to Musso's." She turned slightly away from the door. "I'll talk to you soon. I love you," she whispered into the phone and hung it up, slipping it back into her pocket. Again, she had to restrain her smile to get back to work.

She remembered the way his face had lit up when he talked about that restaurant and knew it had to be one of his favorites – if not the _only_ one. She wanted to share a meal with him there, now that they finally had the chance.

* * *

Fresh from a cold shower to cool down after his workout, Mick jogged down the stairs to his office, buttoning his shirt on the way. The light on his phone was blinking, so he stopped to check his messages, discovering that the first was from Josef, sarcastically asking if he'd dialed the wrong Mick. Chuckling, he knew he had to call his friend as soon as possible, but when he then heard Beth's message about meeting for dinner, his priorities changed.

He called her immediately, only slightly disappointed that he got her service instead. Playing phone tag was only sometimes annoying, but with her, it seemed like fun. He grinned all the way through leaving his message, mostly stunned by her restaurant suggestion.

His need to speak to Beth temporarily out of the way, he then called Josef, and had to explain what had led them to their spontaneous decision to elope and not tell anyone. But Josef still complained, "Damn, after all these years of being your friend, I thought I'd earned the right to be your best man, or at least, a _witness_ to your wedding."

"I'm sorry, Josef – I swear we didn't do it intentionally. We just weren't thinking about anything except…getting married." He chuckled. "Man, can you believe it?"

"Not really," Josef deadpanned. "Then again, I didn't think you'd _ever_ get married again after your last experience."

"It's a completely different set of circumstances."

"I'll say. Now you're just two regular humans living 'the dream'." He spoke the words with almost a tone of distaste. "Planning on getting the house with the white picket fence around it to keep the dog in the yard?"

Mick snorted. "You're just not going to let this go, are you?"

"No. Why should I? I am _hurt_, my friend," Josef proclaimed, but Mick could just picture him with a hand on his chest, overacting the feigned emotion.

"Right," Mick chortled, disbelieving his friend's protests. "Is there a reason why you called before?"

"Yeah, but…it can wait. I'll give you a few days to think about the importance of the _real_ _friends_ in your life." Mick grinned and shook his head, but Josef wondered, "Are you two going to have a honeymoon?"

"We haven't really planned one, and it might be difficult to get away now since we both have work. I don't know. Why?"

"I'm just curious as to how long I need to leave you alone."

"Well," Mick realized, "I know one thing: Beth and I would _love_ to have you over for a visit as soon as possible, so don't worry about that. How's…tomorrow night?"

"Alright," he conceded. "If I have to accept this, I guess it's only fair that I play nice."

Mick knew Josef had been nothing but nice to Beth since the day he'd met her, so there was no worry there. Still, he pretended that it would mean a lot to him if he did, so Josef agreed. They said their goodbyes, cementing plans for the next evening, and hung up, with Mick happy in the knowledge that he had at least one friend that would be around for all eternity.

* * *

Two hours later, Beth returned to her desk after a meeting with Mo to discuss where she was on the story, only to find that she had several new messages on her phone. Delighted to see that at least one of them was from Mick, she listened to it with anticipation, wondering just how he would surprise her next. _"Musso's?"_ he said without even a greeting. _"How in the world did you remember that? Even though I didn't think it was possible, Beth, I think I love you more because you suggested that place. _

"_Yes, I would _love_ to have dinner with you at Musso's. I'll make the reservations and since I assume you'll be working until the very last minute, I'll meet you there. Seven o'clock?"_

She saved the message and hung up, staring with girlish glee at her phone. "Seven, it is," she thought out loud, vowing that come hell or high water, she would get this story put to bed in time for her to leave to make that dinner meeting. Then she sighed when she realized that lunch would have to be a risky sandwich from the break room's vending machine or a quick trip across the street to the deli. She chose the latter option and realized she might just be able to find an overeager intern willing enough to run that errand for her. Finding one, her lunch problem was solved and she had more time to get her work done to achieve her dinnertime goal.

By six o'clock, she'd done her report, alerting the public to be on the lookout for the tan Thunderbird, as the occupants were wanted in five related shootings over the past six months in various cities. She promised more information as it was available, and ended her report, quickly passing off her microphone and getting compliments from her boss for a job well done. But she didn't dawdle; with apologetic excuses, she hurried to her desk for her purse, and rushed to her car to make it to her old apartment to change and then to the restaurant in time for dinner.

* * *

"So, I'll get started first thing tomorrow?" Mick concluded, trying to end the meeting with Wyler so that he could make his dinner date with his bride. They walked together through the front door and on to the front sidewalk, finalizing the plans. Mr. Wyler seemed to be a worthy client, and had already paid a deposit on the work Mick was to do, and Mick was just thrilled to have an easy job to start out his new mortal life.

They were just shaking hands when they heard the squeal of tires, and turned to see a light-colored, old-style car come speeding up the road. Mick's eyes furrowed but he didn't think 

much about it until he saw the dark tinted window roll down halfway and the end of a rifle appeared. Within a split second, he yelled for Wyler to get down and dove to cover his client, and shots were fired all at once. It didn't seem like it had all really happened until it was over and the sounds of the car were long gone.

His eyes closed and feeling pain in his back, Mick struggled to his feet, grimacing. He panicked a little when he saw blood on Mr. Wyler's shirt. "Are you hurt?" he asked, panting for breath.

Wyler shook his head, his eyes wide. He pointed to Mick's chest. "I-I-I think _you_ are, though."

Looking down at his own body, Mick's chest suddenly constricted in shock. His shirt was soaked in blood, with a hole right above his left nipple, where his heart rested beneath his ribs. There was so much blood, in fact, that he had to assume that he'd actually been unconscious for at least a couple of minutes. But how could that be possible?

One touch to his back revealed the horrible truth when he drew back bloody fingertips. Touching his chest and finding that the through-and-through wound was no longer bleeding profusely told him the whole story. And being able to hear and _see_ Wyler's pulse and feeling thirstily drawn to it cemented the inevitable. He was a vampire again.

"No," he murmured in disbelief. And then anger took over. "No! NO!!" Not now, not _YET_! It couldn't be happening – he must be dreaming. But that didn't explain how he could feel his body getting colder, how the setting sun was beginning to hurt the way it used to, or how every sound was amplified a thousand fold. There was no denying it, no matter how hard he tried.

Panicked and afraid of what other humans would think, especially this man who was still laying on the ground, staring up at him in fear, Mick did the only thing he knew how to do with his fifty years of experience: he ran.


	5. Chapter 4: Surprise, Surprise

A/N: Thanks for the reviews so far! And sorry about the cliffhanger - I promised myself not to leave you hanging for long. Thanks again to **htbthomas** for the beta! Enjoy!!

* * *

**Chapter 4:** Surprise, Surprise

Despite being a Los Angeles native, Beth had visited the ever-popular restaurant frequented mostly by tourists a couple of times as a kid. She remembered her mother as being the one who wanted to go to the "Musso and Frank Grill" because the food _was_ spectacular, just as Mick had said. But she also recalled how her father hated the time spent waiting, and often expressed his opinion that he just didn't think the food was worth it.

But that didn't stop her from wanting to sit across a table from the man she loved – just as her mother had – to share the meal that he enjoyed most. She was so excited about it, in fact, as she stood outside the building decorated in the late fifties art deco, she had butterflies in her stomach.

Mick was late. She didn't think much about it, knowing he probably had to meet with a client and most likely got held over longer than usual. He'd show up soon, or her phone would ring with his sweet, honey-toned, apologetic voice, promising he'd be there as soon as he could; she could just imagine his words of love tickling her ear even through the cellular airwaves.

She started to lose hope as time dragged on. She eventually did try calling him; it went straight to his voicemail and she left a pleasant, not-quite-worried-yet message for him. Ending the call with her love, she scanned the streets for any sign of him or his car.

After almost an hour of waiting, Beth began to pace. This just wasn't like Mick, not to be on time _or_ call. She'd just decided that calling him again wouldn't hurt when her phone rang, and she answered in relief, "Hello?"

"Ah, the bride of Frankenstein," a sardonic voice spoke on the other end of the line. Beth recognized it immediately, but it wasn't Mick.

"Josef?" She smirked, realizing, "Mick told you?"

"Well, he didn't have much choice when I called him today and got that message he left for you."

She chuckled. "Yeah, that was sweet, wasn't it? But," she admitted, "I think he knew that might happen."

"Yeah, and I was a little shocked, but…welcome to the family. You know, sort of."

"Thanks, Josef," she responded to his almost audible grin. But then her worry for her husband took over. "Hey, do you know where Mick is?" she quickly asked.

"No," he replied. "I was just getting ready to ask you the same thing. He's not answering his phone again."

"For me either," she frowned. "You don't think something's happened to him, do you?"

"Nah, I wouldn't worry about Mick. He's resourceful."

"Yeah," she mumbled. "I might usually think the same thing but…we were supposed to meet for dinner almost an hour ago, and he's not here yet."

There was a pause and then Josef suggested, "Keep trying him. He's more likely to answer your phone calls than mine. I'll…check around."

"Okay," she agreed, relieved that she wasn't alone in this. "If he's not here by eight, I'm going to go on home and see if I can find something there that might tell me where he is."

She said goodbye and hung up when her phone rang again. The caller ID revealed that it was her boss. Groaning, she answered reluctantly. "Before you say anything, I have plans that I really can't break," she told her.

Mo was almost giddy with new information for Beth. "Oh, you will when you hear this. There's been another shooting."

"Where?"

"Here in L.A. Happened less than two hours ago – I want you on it."

"Mo," she began to complain, but she stopped her.

"Beth, this is _your_ baby. Besides, I think your friend might be involved, either as a victim, or in the least, as a witness. The intended victim said that he thought your friend had gotten shot, but he wasn't sure because he fled the scene before the police arrived."

"Who?" she questioned, feeling like her heart was in her throat. "What friend?"

"That, uh," she seemed as if she was consulting papers. "Mick something. Here it is, Mick St. John?"

Beth _felt_ the blood drain from her face and for a brief moment, she thought she might faint. But her worry for Mick took over and she gripped the phone even tighter, pressing it hard against her ear. "Was he shot? What did the report say?!"

Mo was unnervingly calm, although taken aback by Beth's abrupt change of mood from annoyance to desperation. "It just says that he was covered in blood, but it wasn't the intended victim's – Mick apparently protected him from getting shot. When he saw all the blood, he just ran. The victim did say that he doesn't see how he could've been shot with the way he ran off, but they're not sure where the blood came from."

Hurriedly starting for the parking lot and her car, Beth said, "I'm going to have to call you back, Mo!" and she clicked the phone off without waiting for a reply. She began running as best she could in four-inch heels, digging her keys out of her purse at the same time. As 

soon as she was behind the wheel, she dialed Mick's number one more time, willing him to answer. But it was the same sweet message as before, and it was clear he hadn't had a chance to change it nor was he going to answer her calls. What had happened?!

Driving like a madwoman back to Mick's apartment, Beth did what she always complained about and scrolled in her incoming calls to phone Josef while she drove. And as soon as he answered, she told him, "Have you found Mick yet?"

"No, why?"

"He might've been shot! He ran so I'm on my way to his apartment to look for him." She pounded the gas pedal, willing her car to move faster. Her heart constricted in fear that Mick might be suffering somewhere alone. "I need your help," she pleaded with his friend.

"Where was the shooting?" Josef asked. "I'll go there and see if I can track him."

She rattled off the location and asked him to hurry. "Please, Josef, don't let anything happen to him."

Surprisingly, their usually jovial friend was reassuring, "Beth, I swear I'll do my best."

Beth was shaking as she entered Mick's building and when she noted that the doors were just closing on one elevator and the other was way up in the building, she went straight for the stairwell door. Kicking off her shoes, not once caring that she was leaving behind her favorite pair of designer heels, she ran as fast as she could up the flights to Mick's floor. She was out of breath and exhausted halfway there, but she made herself push through it, thinking only of Mick.

But he wasn't in his apartment. Calling out for him in every room, upstairs and down, Beth returned to the living room in defeat. And despite the optimism that she normally clung to, she felt a lump forming in her throat and tears burning her eyes. Whatever the outcome, she knew deep down that the wedded bliss they'd shared for that one night would not be the same again.

* * *

Josef got out of the taxi cab at the address Beth had given him, paid the driver to let him go on his way, and walked slowly toward the entrance, smelling the air. There was blood, all right. Even though it had been washed away, Josef recognized the scent as Mick's…and human. But the weird thing was that there was the lingering smell of vampire as well, which didn't make as much sense. Instead of knocking on the door and not being able to get much information out of the human who'd already told what he knew to the police, Josef went with his instincts and followed the scent down the road.

He lost it after a few miles, once he reached the highway. The cascade of smells – from the garbage thrown out of cars to the stench of urine under the bridge to the wind gusts mixing 

it all together before blowing it away – was just too much to contend with. He'd lost his trail. Now it would be up to Mick to come home and face whatever had happened on his own.

But it was definitely not news he was looking forward to sharing with Beth; if Mick hadn't already arrived back at his apartment, anyway. But judging by the way he'd run, Josef had an idea that things were back to a normalcy that he hadn't anticipated so soon. He knew his friend well enough to know that Mick only ran in fear. And what would he have to be afraid of if he had just turned back into the vampire they knew well?

Beth met him at the door, her eyes wide and expectant. Josef could smell the saltiness in the air; she'd been crying, even though she now appeared somewhat calm. But that didn't stop her from pelting him with questions.

"Any luck? Were you able to track him? Do you have any idea where he might be?"

Josef held up his hands to hush her and explained what he'd done and how far he'd tracked Mick.

"Where could he have gone?" she asked the very thing he wondered himself.

"I don't know, Beth, but…" He dropped his voice to a more comforting tone to warn her, "If he wasn't scared of losing you, he'd come home."

"Why would he lose me?" she questioned with a bewildered expression on her face. That should be the last thing he'd have to worry about.

Josef swallowed, hating being the bearer of bad news. "There was the scent of vampire at the sight of the shooting. Mick's scent."

Beth blinked, absorbing the information, feeling those damned tears burning her eyes once more. "You really think he turned back?"

"I think it's a definite possibility."

"But why?" her voice cracked. "How? I mean, he would've had to die first—" As soon as she spit the words out that had been haunting her mind since she arrived at the apartment and found it empty, it hit her. "Oh god," she began to sob into her hands. "No. Not yet. He had so very little time…"

Josef reached out and pulled her against his chest, hoping to be of some comfort. He hadn't wanted to see his friend miss out on his second chance at life either, especially since he'd done the right thing and didn't waste a moment telling Beth how he felt about her. Of course, he'd gone one step further and married her impetuously, but that was Mick. And now, it looked like it might already be over and Mick was back to his former life as a vampire.

After several minutes, Beth managed to get her crying under control and stood on her own power, drying away her tears with her hands. "Where could he be? I mean, it's not like I would reject him for being a vampire again. Doesn't he realize that I still love him?"

"I don't know," Josef replied honestly. "But, unfortunately, since we don't know where he is, we'll have to wait for him to come to that realization on his own."

Beth grimaced, and Josef could tell her heart was breaking. He gently held her by the arms and said, "Look. The best thing for you to do right now is go home. Go back to your apartment, go back to work, and just give him some time alone to think. He'll come around when he's ready. And when he does, we'll be here waiting for him."

"And if he doesn't?"

"He will," Josef assured her. "Don't worry."

Worrying was the one thing she was really good at; at least, that was what she soon discovered about herself when it came to Mick St. John. The first few days were the hardest. She barely dragged her body out of bed and made it to work. After that, she sort of numbly went through her days, one at a time, one project or assignment to the next, in a sort of fog. Nothing else mattered but finding Mick.

She looked for him everywhere, as she drove on the street, walked along the sidewalks, searched the crowds she was reporting in front of, or scanned page after page of internet sites for John Does. For all she knew, he'd been hurt but not killed and turned back. Maybe he was in a coma somewhere. Maybe Josef had been mistaken.

It all came to a climax one night when Beth broke down and called Josef from Mick's apartment. She'd checked his house every day since the shooting, looked in his freezer and his closet and every corner of his apartment and balcony and roof, hoping that he might be hiding somewhere. She'd even called out to him, letting her voice carry out over the city, assuring him that no matter what, she still loved him, just in case he was out there and was just hiding from her. But he'd never replied. Tonight, she'd given up and had been crying, completely overwhelmed by the blinding truth: Mick was gone, he was most likely a vampire again, and he'd left her for good. And she'd called Josef out of desperation, just needing to hear a friendly voice.

Josef let himself into Mick's apartment and found Beth with her head in her hands, sitting on the stairs in complete despair. Even though she was dressed well and her hair was groomed, she looked horrible, like she hadn't slept in days. She didn't move as Josef came in, but she did glance up and gave a faint half-smile, at least giving as much effort as she could.

"Still no word?" he asked out of habit, since that was the first thing he'd ask whenever they would meet every few days.

Beth shook her head, too tired to even reciprocate and ask him the same.

Slipping his hands into his suit pockets, Josef nodded once. "Yeah. I haven't heard anything either."

She blinked teary eyes up at him and said, "It's been over a month. Six weeks, Josef. How could he just walk away and leave us worrying about him?"

"He probably didn't think we would worry. I'm sure he just wanted to give you and me both a fresh start by distancing himself. Of course, he also doesn't realize how much of an ass he is," he tried joking, and to her credit, Beth did react, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

She stared off in the distance. "How could he think I could ever go on without him?"

Josef didn't have an answer, and truth be told, if he got a hold of his best friend first, he'd probably beat some sense into him. Instead he sat down beside her on the step and turned his attention on her. "Are you getting any rest at all?"

"Some," she admitted, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I've lost my job at BuzzWire, so I'm home all the time now."

Concern creased his forehead. "Why'd you lose your job?"

"Well, Maureen's been pretty disappointed in my work over the last month; she'd demoted me to research, but felt she had to let me go when I started coming in later and later. I tried to explain about Mick," her voice faltered a little on his name, "but I couldn't without revealing more about him than I knew I should." Their brief marriage was included on that list of no-nos. "It's probably for the best anyway," she sniffed. "I've been making myself so sick over this, I wake up every morning and just throw up to get it over with."

Josef's eyes narrowed, but Beth missed it. "Every morning?" he clarified, and Beth nodded. "For how long?"

"A couple of weeks," she shrugged. "Why?"

Since sitting down beside her, he'd heard something faint, a rhythmic, slightly faster _thump_ than Beth's slower, much louder heartbeat. He thought out loud, "My gosh, it's a baby."

"What's a baby?" she stared over at him in confusion, too out of it to be able to piece together even the simplest of riddles.

He was just as puzzled as she was when it dawned on him that she didn't yet know. His eyes softened and dropped to her stomach and it slowly and painstakingly registered on her face.

"You think I'm having a baby?"

He nodded slightly. "I can hear it."

"Hear what?"

"The heartbeat."

Beth's heart was pounding slightly harder and faster now as she started to panic. And she breathlessly warned, "Josef, don't joke around about this—"

"I _wouldn't_ joke about something like this, Beth."

She stared and didn't speak for a moment. Then the tears started again. "I'm pregnant?" she whispered, not really asking the question but already knowing it was true. She held her face with her elbows propped up on her knees and cried softly. "Oh, god," she sniffled, "when I didn't start this month, I thought it was just stress over Mick's disappearance." She hiccupped as she cried. "What am I going to do?"

"Well, you do have options these days…" he began but she was shaking her head.

"I can't… I can't deal with this. Not now. Not alone."

Putting his arm around her shoulders, Josef quietly promised, "You won't be alone. If you need anything, you know you can just call me."

Beth leaned into him, unable to hold in her tears, but trying to smile at the same time. "I'm having a baby," she softly cried. "It's not exactly the way I wanted it to happen…"

His eyebrows furrowed, he completed her sentence, "But it's what you want?"

She nodded. "Mick's baby." Her crying continued and she leaned into her friend once more. "You have to find him, Josef. He needs to know."

"I know," he whispered against her head, still hugging her close.

"Bring him home," she begged him, "no matter what it takes."


	6. Chapter 5: Dedication

A/N: Many, many thanks to **coffeebean news** (on LJ) for beta'ing this chapter, so that I could get it posted sooner than expected! Enjoy!!

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**Chapter 5: **Dedication

Josef's car dropped him off as requested in a middle-class neighborhood and he stood out on the sidewalk, staring up at a particular two-story house across the street, just letting the memories flood back. No, they weren't his memories; they were stories he'd heard in the years since he'd met Mick after he was turned. Mick didn't speak much about his past; Josef knew that he was still in that early phase of vampirism where he regretted everything about his existence. But that would change one day, once Mick got a grip on what he was and started to enjoy it a little. After all, there were definitely perks to being a vampire, and Mick had yet to even scratch the surface of it all.

But when Mick did talk about his former life as a mortal, Josef absorbed it all in total interest, just listening, hoping that it might help him move past it. He never knew that one day the information might come in handy. But today was unquestionably one of those days.

Crossing the street, Josef walked up to the front door of the house and knocked, not expecting an answer. A listen with his vampiric ears confirmed the fact that no one was inside. Heaving an irritated sigh, Josef bounded down the porch steps and walked around to the back, thankful that it was nighttime and he could break in unnoticed. A quick jump to the upstairs deck and the fortune of an unlocked door, and Josef was inside. Now, just waiting was the only thing he could do.

_And checking things out,_ he mentally added when he saw and remembered that the house was still furnished. Mick had taken out most of his own belongings, but the house was filled with other treasures belonging to his parents, sisters, and younger brother. It was like a museum in some respects – knickknack shelves in perfect order, not one thing out of place, and not even any dust to speak of – while in others, it looked as if the owners of the house would walk right back in from a leisurely day of shopping or some other such human ritual. Josef never could understand the mortal need for picnics and sunbathing at the beach. Golf, on the other hand…oh, how he often wished he could hit the links in the middle of the day instead of sneaking onto the courses after they were closed and teaming with other immortals like himself. Unfortunately, he hadn't come across one undead that was any good at the game and he always creamed them by at least twenty strokes.

Moving through the house, Josef noted that all the beds were still made, and he wasn't surprised that there was a newspaper, no more than a week old, opened up beside a leather chair next to the fireplace in the living room, with a half-spent cigar in the ashtray on the adjoining table. A half-finished crossword puzzle sat on the coffee table with a pencil, and fresh flowers were situated in a vase in the middle of the dining room table.

Josef had never asked and Mick had never divulged, but he assumed that the well-kept, homey appeal was Mick's homage to the family he'd once had. Josef also knew that to keep 

up the appearances the way he did, Mick either had to spend at least a couple of hours at the house each week…or hire someone to properly falsify the atmosphere. Considering that he couldn't recall even one instance that Mick might've spent time at his childhood home, he settled on the decision that it must be closer to the latter.

_He's got dedication,_ Josef thought as his eyes scanned the kitchen and he noted that there were even clean dishes beside the sink, as if freshly hand-washed and waiting to dry before being put away. The wood floors were clean and polished, and the only thing missing was a nice, tall pitcher of iced tea in the refrigerator.

He checked, and as suspected, found it empty. Even Mick wouldn't be careless enough to leave food in the refrigerator where it would be forgotten and spoil. He couldn't take the chance of anyone coming in to investigate suspicious smells.

Shaking his head, Josef could not understand why he hadn't just sold the place, and let the burden fall by the wayside, but again, it was just something he and Mick never discussed.

With another breathless sigh – a mere habit from his former life – Josef wandered around the living room, staring at framed pictures on the walls, trying to pick Mick out in large groups and see if there was anyone else he might recognize. After all, he'd lived a long time, and many people he'd never thought he'd see again had appeared in his life, decades later, as vamps. It definitely could happen and had.

He picked up a picture from an end table and grinned wolfishly. Mick's older sister was definitely a looker. If he didn't know better, he'd swear he might've seen her in a club in the twenties as a barmaid flapper, and he tucked away the curiosity in the back of his mind as a question he might one day ask Mick. She _did _live in the right era, so maybe he _had_ seen her in one of his favorite nightclub haunts in that decade.

Meandering over to the bookshelf, Josef recognized a few more popular titles of classics kids had read for a century or more – _Moby Dick, _Charles Dickens, a few Jane Austen and the Bronte Sisters' novels – as well as book after book of poetry – Keats, Wilke, Shakespeare. Then his eyes caught a glimpse of several spines of books with no names. He pulled the first one to the left off of the shelf and opened it to the first page, reading the handwritten title, "The Life and Personal Journal of Edward James St. John".

"Boring," he sang to the empty air, shoving the book back in its place, and went in search of something, _anything _better to read and occupy his time while he waited for Mick.

Near dawn, Josef was checking out some old girly magazines he felt fortunate enough to find under a mattress and plopped on an easy chair with one leg draped over the arm, when he heard the sound of Mick's car approach and park. Knowing that once Mick reached the porch, he would sense and possibly hear him and might flee when he did, Josef dropped the magazines and ran to catch him, cutting him off in the front yard. He had been on his way back to the car just as Josef suspected.

Mick was annoyed, if nothing else. "What are you doing here?" he barked at his friend.

Josef eased his hands into his pockets, keeping his position between Mick and the road so that he couldn't easily escape. "Besides snooping through all of your old family history? Not much," he joked.

Trying to push past him, Mick floundered. "I don't have time for this—"

He interrupted, keeping Mick at bay with the real reason for his visit, "I'm here to remind you that your life isn't over, my friend."

Mick snorted and rolled his eyes. "Obviously, you know that's not true. It IS over. I had a week – that's all."

Half-smiling because he was right, Josef knew he'd have to try another approach. "Beth has been worried about you."

At the mention of her name, Mick turned his face away. But he couldn't say anything, so he just pivoted and went up the stairs to go into the house. Josef followed, continuing to speak. "I haven't been as worried because I knew where you would go. I just thought I'd give you the time and space you needed to figure things out."

Stopping in the middle of his foyer, Mick spun around and glared at him. "Figure things out? How the hell am I supposed to do that? My life is _over_, Josef. I've just been here long enough to get a new place and name set up, so I can get out of here and hopefully forget what I had."

"Like Beth," he said pointedly and Mick's eyes began to water. But instead of letting the tears fall, he turned and continued on into the house.

"_Especially _Beth," Mick tossed over his shoulder, painfully. "Everything is done now. I'm leaving tonight."

"You can't."

"Oh, yes, I can," he argued, moving through the living room to the kitchen, where he tossed the bag he was carrying to the table. Opening the empty refrigerator, Mick pulled away a false back on the bottom shelf and took out all the pouches of blood he had stashed and began setting them on the counter. "I have to get away; I can't stay here anymore. It's part of the agreement I made with Beth."

"I think she'll be happy if you changed your mind."

Ignoring him, Mick walked over to the table and grabbed his shoulder bag and returned, shoving the blood pouches inside.

"This is ridiculous, Mick. You're not even going to give Beth a chance to say goodbye?"

"She'll get over me faster this way."

"She doesn't _want_ to."

Mick then yelled, "She didn't want to spend her life with a vampire either! What kind of future is that for her?!" He went back to filling his bag with the rest of the blood, shoving the packs in even more forcefully.

Josef continued to remain calm even though Mick was harried, and he told him, "She's not worried about her future."

"She _should_ be," Mick proclaimed, dropping the last pouch in the bag and putting the strap over his arm and storming out of the kitchen. He went on, trying to make his exit noble, "Maybe this way she can move on with her life; find someone else, get married, have kids—"

"Well, you're partly right," Josef smirked again, following him back toward the front door. He dropped the next bombshell slowly, timing it just before Mick made his final escape, "At least she's already pregnant."

Mick stopped abruptly with his hand on the doorknob and slowly turned to peer at his friend with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What?" he shook his head in complete perplexity.

Josef didn't bother repeating what he'd said because he knew Mick had heard him right. Instead he confirmed, "It is yours, just in case you were wondering."

Mick's face fell, recognizing the seriousness in Josef's voice. He'd heard him correctly, but Mick's mind was suddenly in a fog, and he fought to work out how that could be possible. He _had _been human, after all; he and Beth had discussed this very option before they married. He'd just never considered that it would actually _happen._

Shaking his head as if it would further help straighten out his thoughts, Mick let all of his emotion out in a laugh. "A baby… A baby?" he chuckled, happy and sad and frightened all at the same time. Josef simply nodded, and Mick covered his mouth with his hand. "I never would've thought…" he rubbed his palm over his chin. "We were only together one night."

"It only takes once," Josef retorted like a teacher explaining the facts of life to a student who didn't know any better.

Mick dropped his hand back to his side and his bag to the floor when it occurred to him to ask, "Is she going to keep it?"

"What do _you_ think?" his friend deadpanned.

He didn't even have to ask what that meant, knowing Beth well enough to know that she'd want any connection to him that she could possibly have. She'd see this baby as a gift, as he did – since vampires couldn't conceive – and there was no way she'd ever let that go. He was practically shaking as he asked, "Does she know…where I am?"

"No," Josef shook his head. "I never told her where to look. Figured I should first talk to you and see if you could pull your head out of your ass and do the right thing. Don't want her to kill _me _for knowing where you were all this time."

Mick chuckled nervously and then sobered when he realized just how coming back now would be accepted. He sighed, "She must hate me."

"No," the other vamp chuckled. "Funny thing is that she doesn't. Not one bit. She just wants you back."

"And, what, I just walk back into my apartment and say, 'Hi, honey, I'm home,'?"

"Add an apology for being such an idiot, and that might work," Josef remarked lightheartedly.

Mick swiveled and leaned his hips against the closest wall. "I don't know," he sighed again. "I never thought I'd have to deal with this. I mean, how is this going to work? By the time my child hits thirty, he and I will look like brothers instead of father and son."

"Or brother and _sister_," Josef added. "It's too early yet to know if it's a boy or girl."

Staring at him as he spoke, Mick was flummoxed. He shook his head once more. "I still can't believe it. When did Beth find out?"

"When I told her."

"What?"

Josef briefly explained how it had all transpired, sitting on Mick's apartment steps, listening to the baby's heartbeat, and being the one to inform _her_ of the pregnancy.

"And she's…happy about it?" Mick wondered, just a touch fearfully.

Josef nodded. "She's just afraid of going through it alone."

Shaking his head, Mick vowed, "I-I…I wouldn't."

"Then you'd better get back to her soon."

Mick stood up again and pushed away from the wall. "Is she…at my place?"

"Well, considering she could no longer afford her apartment after she lost her job, yeah."

Concerned, he clarified, "She lost her job at BuzzWire?"

Josef nodded solemnly. "She was apparently grieving too much having recently lost her husband. She got canned."

Again Mick covered his face. "Oh, god, what have I done to her?"

Shuffling on his feet, Josef teased with a smirk, "Basically everything you didn't ever want to do to Beth – swept her off her feet, married her, and then left her knocked up and unemployed. It's a good thing you're still paying for your apartment; otherwise, she'd be homeless too." He clapped his friend on the shoulder. "But, the good news is that all you have to do is go back and support her," he smiled as he instructed, "and that'll make everything right again in her world."


	7. Chapter 6: Reunion

A/N: Sorry I'm a little slow getting this story updated – I had a little trouble with characterization this time and had to seek the help of my beta, **coffeebean news **(on LJ), and add a bit more to the chapter as a result. Bless her heart, she beta'd it twice for me! (((hugs C)))

(Oh, warning: there's a teensy bit of a spoiler for 1x15, just fyi.)

I hope you'll all be happy with this chapter that I've named for the many of you that have said they were looking forward to Mick and Beth's "Reunion". Thanks for reading, for all the wonderful reviews so far, and enjoy!!

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**Chapter 6: **Reunion

Beth was standing in Mick's kitchen, cutting up some vegetables for a salad for her lunch – adding a generous amount of bacon bits to the top. For some reason, she'd been craving those things, despite how bad she knew they were for her. _And the baby, _she mentally added. She was trying hard to remember to include the baby in her thoughts as much as possible. Until she and Josef found Mick and knocked some sense into him, she was going to have to act as both mother and father to the child and responsibly take care of it.

She took a breath and forcefully let it out, wondering for the umpteenth time what she could do to help Josef find him. He hadn't verbally said it, but she knew he'd be out looking as often as he could until he succeeded. The fact that Mick hadn't even given her a chance to hear what had happened and be in on his decision to leave had enraged her for several days after his disappearance, but had quickly subsided into depression. And since finding out about the baby, Beth's attitude had greatly improved. Her only fear now was that Josef might not find Mick and then he'd never know about his baby.

There was a knock at the door she recognized as Josef's, and she tucked away her fears. And then as he'd become accustomed, the door opened as he let himself in. "Hey," she spoke up before she even saw him. "You didn't happen to bring any food for me, did you? I'm having a sudden craving for French fries."

Josef stopped with the door open and stared at her in mild disbelief. Was she serious? She thought he'd bring food? But Beth then half-smiled as she dried her hands on a towel, answering his unasked question – she was teasing, but only slightly. The craving was, unfortunately, real.

Josef still used her joke as a jumping off place. "No, sorry, no food, but…I did bring you something else."

He stepped to the side, pushing the door open wider…and Mick appeared around the doorjamb from the hall, stepping inside the apartment.

Beth gasped and her stomach lurched when she saw her long-lost husband. She abandoned her salad and practically ran over to the door to throw her arms around Mick's neck. She was crying in seconds, holding him so tight he couldn't move – or perhaps he could but just didn't want to. Whatever his reason for not squirming his way out of her arms, she didn't care. She just took advantage of it, any way she could, to keep him there, safe, and in her embrace.

Beside them, Josef quietly ducked out of the door and closed it behind him, leaving the couple alone to work things out. His consideration didn't go unnoticed by either of them, and they each knew they would have to thank him, but it was understood that it would have to be much later, once they were past their other issues.

His arms securely around her, Mick just held her, lost in the hold she had on him, taking in her scent and the warmth of her body against his, recalling their intimate moments of weeks before that had been too short. The sensation of her touch against his skin was now gone and he had only his imagination and memory to recall that feeling. It was saddening to think he'd never feel her touch again. Regret, guilt, and shame were running rampant through his body, but mostly, he was wishing there was something he could say to make things right. She was holding him so tight that it made him believe that she wasn't harboring any anger toward him for his absence. But how could that be possible, after what he did? If Josef hadn't gotten to him before he completely disappeared, he would've left Beth to deal with life alone, pregnant with his child…

His ears immediately tuned in and he heard it too, deep within her womb, a resounding, fast, _th-thump-th-thump-th-thump. _The slight sound made it all so real…and his stupidity that much worse. "I am so sorry," he finally spoke his first words, still hugging her tight, keeping his words soft and humble.

"Shh, it's okay," she shook her head against his, running her fingers down through his hair. "You're okay; that's all that matters."

"I'm not human anymore," he argued, and she pulled away just to hold his face and look him in the eye.

"I don't care," she spoke adamantly, feeling relieved that she could finally say that to his face. "I didn't fall in love with you as a human. Being what you are – a vampire," she added so that he wouldn't think she was afraid to say the word. "_You_ are the man I love. Turning back doesn't change my feelings for you."

Temporarily putting the vampire reality aside, he was worried that she didn't quite understand the severity of his guilt. So he confessed zealously, "I was going to leave and never return, Beth. I almost left you _alone_…to deal with this—"

"But you didn't," she opposed. "To me, that proves that we can work things out." He was still skeptical, so she added jokingly, "Don't make a pregnant woman angry, Mick. I may not have vampire abilities, but I've heard that hormones can give a woman superpowers too."

It worked to make him smile, and she shared it with him when he took a small step back to cast his glance down at her mid-section. And it made her wonder, "Can you hear it?"

He nodded and his hand automatically reached out to place his palm on her stomach and she helped guide it, unashamed. "We won't be able to feel it for a while." Their eyes met and she recognized his surprise that she had even that little bit of knowledge. So she explained, "I went to the doctor this morning, and he told me the basics. Would you like to see it?"

His puzzled look was enough of a yes, so she scurried over to her purse on one of the chairs in the living room, and came back with a small piece of paper in her hand. Mick had followed her as far as the couch and when she handed him the picture, he sank down on the arm, staring at it in total bewilderment. Finally, after a moment, he asked, "What am I looking at here?"

She chuckled, "I asked the same thing. I thought it looked like a satellite photo of space or something." She leaned over to view the picture and pointed. "That's my uterus." She went on, "And that little white dot inside that black space that looks like a grain of rice? That's the baby."

That knowledge washed over him like a tsunami wave, flooding his body with an almost human-like warmth. He was looking at a picture of his _baby_ – his own son or daughter. "Wow," he uttered the small word in such a big way that Beth grinned.

"I know," she concurred. "It's unreal, isn't it?"

"Yeah," tears formed in his eyes. "I never thought I could be so…so…fortunate, considering what I am. And yet, I feel the same way I did the day you agreed to marry me."

She closed the gap between them until their knees were touching and said, "I've been thinking about that too." She took a breath, preparing her speech that she'd had planned for weeks, if she ever got a chance to see him again and would need to convince him to stay. "When we said our vows, we agreed to stick together until 'death do us part'. But…when I said mine, I was thinking 'forever'. Just because you died and turned back into a vampire, I don't consider myself free from our marriage commitment. That's just a technicality and my feelings haven't changed – I don't want to spend a moment of my life without you."

Mick pulled Beth into his arms again and softly cried over her shoulder, choking back a lump in his throat to whisper, "I don't deserve you."

She chuckled out of turn and teased him, "Well, don't think you're getting off that easy. You can't leave me all knocked up and alone. I have no idea how to deal with a baby."

He pulled away with a much happier expression on his face. And when she continued to hopefully stare up at him, he realized she was looking to him for help and replied 

defensively, "Well, don't look at me. For the most part, I've _avoided_ children for the last sixty years."

She lifted a hand from his shoulder and dropped it again. "Well, what are we going to do? Take classes?"

"That's an idea."

"I'm just afraid this kid is going to come out screaming and those maternal instincts that everybody talks about will be severely lacking in my life."

He chuckled. "I'm sure you'll do fine."

Beth sobered a bit and let out a calming breath. "So, we're in this together?"

After a moment, he nodded. "I won't abandon you or the baby. I promise."

Smiling pleasantly, she replied, "Good. I was afraid you were going to say that you would support us but that we couldn't be together."

"Oh," he seemed to be caught off-guard. "Well, I don't think we could let our marriage to continue—"

"What? Why not?"

"Beth, how would that work exactly?"

"We live together and raise our baby like any other family," she answered incredulously.

"And we would…sleep together?"

She made a face. "Gee, I hope so. I wouldn't want my husband sleeping somewhere else." Then she thought to add, "Of course, except for when you need to be in your freezer for a while."

He tried again, "I-I'm specifically talking about…physical relations."

She smirked, "So am I, Mick. I'd like to have sex with my husband regularly, you know."

This was starting to get frustrating. "I think you're missing the point," he spoke with a gentle tone, despite the slightly annoying miscommunication going on. "Vampires can't… I mean," he breathed out through his nose, "we tend to get, you know…_violent_ during…intimate moments."

"So?"

He spoke vehemently, "Beth, I wouldn't want to hurt you or the baby."

The left side of her mouth curved up into a smile and she meandered back into his personal space to touch his jaw. "That's what you're worried about? Don't." Her finger lightly trailed down his face. "You won't hurt us. I'm not afraid of being with you, vampire or no vampire."

He still wasn't convinced. "It's just not a smart idea."

"Why not? You said that vampires can have sex with humans."

"Yeah, but I also said it never ends well. What did you think I meant by that?"

"Not all _human_ relationships end well either, so I didn't think much about it."

He tried a different approach, in an attempt to explain his argument a little better. "Beth," he made sure to speak gently, "I've never slept with a human as a vampire because of the tragic stories I've heard over the years. Men and women that vampires have loved that weren't left behind as the years passed and the human aged, were either killed in a passionate moment...or turned just before they died."

"But there were some human/vampire couples," she pointed out, "that had many happy years together. Right?"

He pursed his lips, unwilling to answer, mainly because he _had _heard at least a story or two of vampires having a relationship with humans for as long as they lived. But the downside was that they'd also watched them age and die.

"Why are you so afraid when I'm not?" she questioned, not understanding his reluctance. But she couldn't comprehend the pain of losing someone in that manner the way he could.

"I'm terrified," he blurted out in confession, "…of having this wonderful life together, only to have to say goodbye to you later."

"Oh," her mouth formed the word and the sound was almost inaudible. Then she said rationally, "But we shouldn't have to worry about that for another fifty or sixty years, right?" She then pictured the two of them together with her at an age of ninety and Mick appearing to still be around the age of thirty like he was now. "Wait, I guess that won't work," she sobered. "Can't have you becoming some old lady's gigolo."

He laughed at the picture she painted with her words, but the subject was far from over. "Now you see my dilemma."

Beth sighed and put her hand on her hip. "I don't know. I mean, it'll be a good ten or maybe even twenty years before anybody notices that we're not a typical couple. And that's a long time – maybe we can figure out another solution by then."

"Or say goodbye then," he spoke somberly.

"Hey," she reached out for his hand and held it. "Don't you get it yet that I'm in this for the long haul? You know I'm a stubborn person; I _will_ figure this out."

Mick sat back down on the arm of the couch again and pulled her close with both hands in his. "I've thought about this for a long time, Beth – a lot longer than you have – and I've never been able to find an answer."

She set her hands on his shoulders, contemplating what he was saying. "Well," she pleaded softly, "can't we just…try to have a regular relationship?" With her hands on both sides of his face, she toyed with his ears between her fingers. "For a while, anyway?"

Needing to get away from her touch for a minute to think, Mick got up and moved past her, pondering deeply on her request. Could they try to be as close to a normal couple as possible? Or would that be foolhardy and selfish? For so many years, he'd always leaned toward the latter, believing that anything close to normal and human was out of his reach forevermore. Yet what she was asking was something so innocent and seemingly so easy; all she wanted was whatever he had to give, for her _and_ the baby.

Her arms slipped around him from behind and she hugged him in silent support of the tumbling emotions running through his soul. Mick rested his hand on top of hers on his chest, letting his fingers slide across her ring – now back in its rightful place on her left hand – and he leaned back into her, shutting his eyes. Yes, he wanted what she did: a marriage with the one he loved. He just wished it could last forever instead of having to bring to it a time limit.

"I'll bet you're thirsty," she said out of the blue as she pulled away from him and rounded the island. "Want something to drink?"

"Uh, yeah, but I—" he started to argue, but was stunned to silence when she opened his secret refrigerator.

She pulled out a bottle of A-positive and held it, noticing his surprise. "I called Guillermo. I knew that once Josef found you and told you about the baby, you'd come home. And I knew you'd need blood, so…"

Without waiting for his reaction, she went ahead and got out a glass for him, filling it to the top with the blood. Then she replaced the bottle, closed the 'fridge, rearranged the vase on the shelf that hid the door, and walked over to him with his drink.

He just stood, stupefied, watching her. "Why are you doing this for me?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "You have to drink to live, especially after being out in the sun today, and I thought we could have our lunch together." Again, she offered him the glass and this time he took it, albeit reluctantly.

Beth picked up her salad and walked over to the table to sit down. Mick followed but only by a few feet, eyeing his glass of blood. "I don't have to drink this now – I don't want to make you sick."

"Please," she rolled her eyes. "It won't bother me. Come here, sit down," she patted the chair next to her, "and take a sip. I'll prove it to you."

Looking down into the deep red liquid, Mick realized that he _was_ thirsty, but this was a new world that he was living in. It was surreal. He took a chance…and a sip, and then slowly opened his eyes and forced them to meet her gaze.

Beth was smiling warmly and gazing at him with nothing but love in her azure eyes. He'd expected _some_ kind of negative reaction, if even slight and nearly unnoticeable – maybe even just a speeding up of her heart rate – but she was continually surprising him. "Come here," she whispered, again coaxing him to the table. This time he obeyed, but hesitantly took the chair beside her, holding the glass between his two hands on the table. She picked up her fork, preparing to take a bite, but asked, "So, where were you?"

It took another moment for it to sink in that she was past the whole blood-drinking thing and was on to regular conversation just like any other couple, when her question finally registered in his mind. "Uh… Home," he finally replied, saying the word automatically. Then he realized he'd have to clarify when he saw her confused expression. "My parents' house, where I grew up."

She blinked in surprise and swallowed the bite of food in her mouth to ask, "You…you still own it?"

"Yeah," he nodded, and then rethought what he'd said. "In a roundabout way; it's in a trust. Josef helped set it up once my family…was gone," he concluded, hoping that his tone of voice would put an end to any questions she might have in that reporter's inquisitive mind of hers.

Absorbing that information, she was afraid to touch the depressing subject of his dearly departed family and bring down the current state of coexistence they'd managed to temporarily build. But to keep the conversation going, Beth wondered instead, "Where is it?"

"Over in West Adams," he stated matter-of-factly, the emotion in his voice barely discernible.

Her next question was a natural one. "Why don't you just live there? I mean, do you just prefer being in the city?"

"Mostly," he answered. His mood turned a tad more dull. "I also can't seem to…"

"Push past the memories?" she finished for him when his voice trailed off, and when he met her gaze, he found only empathy behind her irises. He couldn't respond, and she nodded 

once, tapping her fork on the side of her bowl in pensive thought. She was smiling compassionately when she looked up again. "Can I see it sometime?"

"Sure," Mick agreed, but even though the thought did cross his mind to ask why, he didn't give in to it. He knew why. He loved her and wanted to learn every detail of her life that he didn't already know if she'd let him, and because he knew that she felt the same about him, it was only natural that she'd want to know that part of _his_ life as well.

Silence reigned in the room for a few minutes with the exception of Beth's eating and Mick turning his glass in his hands and taking the occasional sip. Then he realized there was much more that needed to be discussed. "Josef told me that you lost your job at BuzzWire."

"Yeah, well," she momentarily widened her eyes and relaxed them again. "It's probably for the best anyway. As I get bigger, it won't be as easy to chase down those hot stories and wanted criminals."

"Not to mention, unsafe," he commented. "Have you looked for something else?"

"Not yet," she admitted. "My first concern was making sure I got you back. Now, I might start sending out my résumé." She took a sip of her glass of water. "But, um, that's something I wanted to talk to you about… I don't mind working while I'm pregnant, but uh, when the baby comes, I'd really like to be able to stay with him – or _her_," she quickly amended, "for a few months or even a year, but…I didn't know if that was something we could afford or—"

"Of course," he interrupted her run-on sentence. "Whatever you want, Beth, we'll work it out."

She nodded and smiled. "That's what I thought, too."

Mick thought about all of the changes that had come to Beth's life because of him when it occurred to him that he didn't see much of her stuff in his living space. What had happened to all of her furniture? Taking another glance around, he couldn't even pinpoint one item in the room that was hers, and his brow creased in confusion. "I thought you lost your apartment."

"I did," she replied after she scooped the rest of the bowl and ate the last bite of her salad. She sat back in her chair to divulge, "Josef let me store my things in the basement of his new office building. I thought maybe you and I could go through the furniture together and decide if there's anything we'd want to keep."

"You're going to get rid of all of it?"

She shrugged. "If we don't want it. There's really no room for it all here."

"Yeah, but, don't you want to incorporate some of you in here – give it a little bit more of a feminine touch?"

Beth slowly smiled as he spoke, waiting for several seconds after he was through to point out, "So…you want me to stick around then, I guess."

He'd been caught before he'd made the conscious decision to keep their marriage intact or not. But, looking at her beautiful face, golden hair, bright blue eyes, and white gold wedding ring she wore just for him, he only knew one thing: "I can't imagine a day going by without you in it." He reached for her hand and held it, caressing it with his thumb. "But…"

She stopped him by placing her free hand on top of their joined ones. "No, don't, please. Let's not talk about what's going to happen in a year or ten years, okay? Not now. Let's just enjoy the time we have instead of focusing on the end. Today and tomorrow, I'm just your wife – your _pregnant_ wife." She grinned and then tugged his hand closer, leaning over to reach his mouth and kiss him.

Letting his lips linger on hers for several moments, Mick surrendered to her love and knew he didn't want to be anywhere else in the world. Sitting at his dining room table, with his wife and unborn child, sharing what would soon become an average lunch in their unusual cohabitation, he'd found his own personal heaven on earth.

* * *

PS: I looked up West Adams on the internet and discovered it doesn't look anything like the West Adams in the show, so I'm writing this in the _Moonlight_ universe. In this story, it's a nice neighborhood in L.A. with a lot of old-fashioned, two-story houses, just like we saw in 1x15-What's Left Behind, okey-dokey? ;)


	8. Chapter 7: Borrowed Time

A/N: Posting this today for me, since I'm feeling a little down. I'm using a little artistic license on this chapter, so bear with me.

Thanks again to **coffeebean news** for the beta! Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 7: **Borrowed Time

"Can you reach that box up there?" Beth asked as she straddled another box, pointing to a shelf high up above her head. As Mick was coming over to help, she added, "I could probably reach it myself, but I'm not sure how heavy it is…"

"That's okay," he said, and then thought of a way to tease her. "You get to play the part of the delicate flower now."

Beth giggled as he took down the box and set it on the floor. She unfolded the flaps and exclaimed, "Oh, good, this is what I was looking for." She pulled out a book and hugged it to her body to look through the rest of the box. "I don't know why I packed my address book away. I still have to call my relatives and tell them about the baby."

"Relatives?" he repeated, slightly surprised. He knew that Beth's father had died before she reached adulthood and her mother had passed from kidney disease three years earlier, and he wasn't sure exactly who she was referring to.

She peered up at him from her squatted position and replied, "My Aunt Margo would kill me if I didn't give her the news. She's kind of stepped in for my mom the last couple of years."

Mick nodded in understanding. "Do I have to meet her?"

"I think it would be a good idea," she smirked, downplaying his trepidation. "She'll want to know who the baby's father is. In fact, I'd really like to start telling people that we're married."

He took in a sharp breath. "I don't know about that…"

Completely at ease with his apprehension about everything, Beth laughed. "Well, I'm not going to pretend that I was artificially inseminated or just got so drunk at a party one night that I don't know who the father is, if that's what you're thinking."

"No, I—" He abruptly shut up when he realized he _didn't_ have a better idea.

She tapped his denim-covered leg, and assured him, "Believe me, it'll work out better if we just go with the flow for now and discuss other options much later in life."

He nodded once more and bent down to pick up a doll he saw peeking out from amongst the books and newspaper-wrapped trinkets in the box between them. He half-smiled as he fingered the floral-printed apron on the doll with its braided yarn hair, letting his personal memories flood back to the front of his mind.

"I've had that since I was little," Beth divulged casually as she continued digging through the box. "It was my favorite doll for a good portion of my childhood."

"I gave it to you," he suddenly revealed and Beth's head snapped up to look at him.

"What?" She slowly smiled. "You did?"

"About a week after I brought you home when you were four; I stopped by to check on you and brought you this as a welcome-home present."

Standing up again in amazement, Beth kept the grin plastered on her face and shimmied over to Mick's side, slipping her arm around his waist. "Thank you," she said, kissing him on the cheek.

His brow furrowed just a touch. "Your mother made you thank me when I gave it to you."

"I'm sure she did," she replied. "I'm thanking you now for telling me."

They shared warm smiles when Josef's voice suddenly reverberated through the cold basement room. "Well, well, well. Didn't expect to see the two of you so soon. Figured there'd be at least a _day_ of make-up sex—"

Mick held up his hand toward the door. "Josef," he complained, shutting his eyes.

Beth simply laughed at Mick's obvious discomfort and joked with their friend, "Oh, that's okay. We just thought we'd wait and stay up all night instead."

Josef's reaction was merely a stunned silence followed by a chuckle, while Mick's expression was the classic deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. Beth just grinned mischievously as she went back to her boxes.

"So," Josef continued the conversation, "what are you doing here? Looking for your black lace negligees?"

To her credit, Beth took Josef's teasing in stride and bantered back, "What do we need those for?" She grinned again and then answered seriously, "No, I had to get a few things and show Mick all that we need to go through together."

Mick finally found his voice…after he cleared his throat. "Yeah, thanks for letting us store Beth's stuff here. And for bringing me home."

"No problem. All in a day's work," he smirked. "Give me your firstborn and we'll call it even." Without missing a beat, he added, "Just kidding, of course. I'm just happy to see you two back together." He turned back toward the hallway to leave them but stopped to add, "But you know, you could always _name_ your firstborn after me. If it's a boy, anyway. I know this is the twenty-first century and all, but I'm not too sure the name 'Josef' would work for a girl." Intent on leaving on a comedic high note, he smiled his goodbye and rounded the doorjamb.

While Beth laughed and shook her head, Mick knew there was one more thing he wanted to ask and he started through the maze of boxes and furniture to the door to follow his friend. "Josef?" he called out and caught up to him in the hall. He checked behind him to make sure Beth hadn't followed and then dropped his voice to question carefully, "I know you have experience in this area, so…I wanted to ask…" He took a moment to straighten out his thoughts. "Are there any side-effects from having sex with a human? Anything I should worry about?"

"Yes," Josef said seriously, clamping his hand down on his friend's shoulder. He stared at Mick straight in the eye and told him, "Severely over-thinking it." He relaxed and grinned and dropped his hand again to tell him, "Come on, Mick. Stop worrying and enjoy it. You have the most control I've ever seen in any vamp – I'm sure you won't hurt Beth. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't _ask_ you to…you know, be a little more aggressive. She's a pistol, that one."

With a jump of his eyebrows, Mick had to agree. But he still had some concerns. "You don't think it would hurt the baby, do you?"

"One thing I've learned in my four hundred years: the safest place for a child is in its mother's womb. Stop thinking the worst is going to happen. In fact," he said in conclusion, "just stop thinking." And with that, he half-waved and scooted on down the hall.

While he knew Josef was right, Mick still had doubts. There were numerous consequences to consider. But he didn't say anything and didn't plan to until the time was right, knowing it was a difficult subject that might not end well. And with nightfall quickly approaching, he unfortunately knew the subject would be broached sooner rather than later.

Arriving back at their apartment, Beth went about setting the things she'd brought back with them in various, strategic places: address book in the drawer beneath the cordless phone cradle, her favorite quilted throw across the back of the couch, and some books that she found a home for on Mick's diagonal shelves. She even propped her now precious little doll on the edge of one of the shelves as a visual reminder of how well-connected she and Mick had always been.

Mick watched her with a hand on his hip and caught her smiling as she turned away from the books and dusted off her empty hands. "Well, my work is done," she joked. "And…it's been a long day…"

Her eyes smoldered in a way he recognized. And his apprehension naturally took hold. "Uh…Beth…"

She shook her hips as she slowly walked toward him; acting very much like a seductive temptress. He was starting to hate that, despite the fact that he wasn't human, he still had his manly desires. And the closer she got, the richer and more intoxicating her scent became to him. She stopped directly in front of him and reached up, beginning to unbutton his shirt. He was frozen to the spot; the doubts and arguments running through his mind could not form words on his tongue. And it only worsened when she leaned in and began kissing his cold flesh where his shirt had been. "Beth," he managed to mumble and then fell mute again. The light kisses didn't feel the way they would on human skin, but he wasn't completely void of emotion; and with her head tucked just beneath his chin and the fragrance of her shampoo and of her filling his nostrils…well, it was almost too much.

Beth knew what she was doing, or at least, she _hoped_ her meticulous touches were helping to reduce his doubts and fears. She continued her journey down his chest, slowly undoing one button at a time, replacing the fabric with her lips, bending to reach his stomach as she traveled lower. She might've imagined it, but Mick shivered when she reached his belly button, and suddenly pulled her up and tight against his body.

"What are you doing?" he questioned huskily; his voice raspy and deep.

Tossing her hair over her shoulder with a flick of her head, she wiggled her eyebrows and smiled. "I'm…seducing you." Wrapping her arms around his neck, she leaned back in his embrace and whispered, "Do you know how sexy you are?"

"Do you know how stubborn _you_ are?"

Beth smirked. "Yes." She lowered her eyelids sultrily. "Especially when I see something I want."

Mick suddenly pushed away from her and took a few steps to his right, rubbing at his face. If his heart pulsated, he knew it would be beating hard and fast right now.

But Beth didn't leave him alone for long; her arms slipped around his waist from behind and she proceeded to untuck his shirt and finish opening it by slipping the last button through its hole. Her right hand explored his bare stomach and chest while her left slid beneath the waistband of his jeans and traveled lower—

She only managed to navigate about an inch further before he squirmed out of her arms once more.

"_Beth_," he said again, this time a touch more agitated. "I'm still not sure about this whole…arrangement."

She snorted, "What, living together, our marriage, or just the sex thing?"

"All of it," he revealed as he spun on his heel.

Sobering, Beth nodded. "I see." She moved to the closest chair and perched on the arm, keeping her distance as he so obviously wished. She sighed heavily. "So, what's the problem?"

He let out a nervous breath, and began to pace back and forth between the stairs and the couch. "I don't know," he confessed and Beth stood up again.

Her eyes narrowed a little bit. "Well, what did Josef have to say about it?"

Mick stopped walking and looked up at her in surprise.

"Oh, please," she rolled her eyes. "I know you asked for his opinion." Still, he was silent and when he resumed his pacing, she knew, "He told you to go for it…and yet, you still have doubts." She wondered, "Why?"

He scoffed, "Josef has always had the motto of 'pleasure first'. I can't trust his opinion as the last word when it comes to something this…delicate."

She tilted her head to one side. "And what about mine?"

Mick stopped again and stared at her. "What do you mean?"

Chancing a few steps toward him, she told him, "I mean…I know what the risks are – we've discussed them; we know what's coming in the future, and one or both of us may end up miserable and alone. But I don't care. All I know is that I want to spend every possible moment I can with you, and every night making love to you, for as long as we can."

He met her eyes and held her gaze. "What about the consequences? The grief? The pain?"

"Every life has all of that," she answered, "but I've learned that taking the risk, even though we know what's coming, is what makes life worth living. Otherwise, we might as well go ahead and die now. But, if we did, we'd miss out on a whole lot of happiness. And while others have decades to work and live together, fight and make up and be happy, you and I may only have ten years of that."

Mick absorbed her words, finally understanding what she'd meant all along. She wasn't going to live forever in the same way that he was cursed. Josef had lived through half a dozen lifetimes, and when Mick considered it that way, Beth would be gone from his life practically in the blink of an eye. If he wanted to enjoy any happiness with her, it was now or never. "We're on borrowed time," he mumbled, thinking out loud.

"Yeah," she agreed. "And we're wasting it right now by having this argument."

Suddenly, he knew without a doubt what he needed to do, and in two quick steps, he had her in his embrace, kissing her again. Beth accepted it and moaned in his open mouth 

when he scooped her up into his arms and quickly started for the stairs. He obviously wasn't going to wait and lose even one more minute of what little time they had. If he did, he'd have all of his eternity to regret it.

* * *

Mick was wide-awake in his bed, staring at the ceiling in the dark room, smiling as he recalled the night he'd just spent with Beth. He'd surprised himself, maintaining control of the beast that raged within him throughout each of their unions. But when he allowed his mind to remember just how many times he and Coraline had consummated before their wedding night, and how he'd never once suspected that she was such an unbelievable creature as a vampire, he realized he should've known all along that it was possible to manage.

"Stupid," he murmured, talking to himself. Beth stirred beside him, rolling back to her left side, facing him again. Her breaths returned to their deep and even pattern, and he knew she wasn't yet awake. But he didn't blame her; it wasn't quite dawn and they had been up for most of the night… His lips curved up as he stared at her and the memory washed over him once more. Every second had been perfect and beautiful. Even in the dark, she looked like an angel laying there on her pillow, with her golden hair spread out around her head like a halo. And for once, he felt like his supernatural eyesight was a blessing.

He rolled to his side to be able to study her better, and reached to grasp her left hand resting palm-side-up on the mattress between them. Her fingers were so soft against his rough, dead skin that he just couldn't resist drawing her hand to his lips, where he lightly kissed it. Taking a moment to stare at the ring on her finger again, he realized his was missing from his hand. He'd taken it off the day he'd run from his client's house after he'd been shot, completely despairing that his life was over and Beth was forever lost to him. But what had he done with it?

Retracing his steps in his mind, Mick realized it must be at his family's home. He'd been so out of it those first couple of days, there was no telling what he might've done with it. He'd even skipped procuring some much-needed blood and holed up inside the house, praying that he might die and get it over with. But the damned vampire within him wouldn't allow that to happen, instinctual survival took over, and even though he fought it with all his might, he ended up draining the life of a homeless man. Mick had been out walking one night, trying to fight off the hunger that had driven him from his hideout; sticking to alleyways where he might avoid the living…and stumbled upon a haggard, old man doing his best to keep warm on the chilly February night. He didn't have a chance against the hungry monster inside of Mick, and even though Mick apologized in that second before he fed, it still did not assuage his guilt for killing an innocent. It was all he could do to call the cleaner, anonymously announce the location, and flee for his hiding place again.

Bringing his mind back to the much-happier present, Mick realized just how blessed he was, considering all that he'd done in his existence. Of course, he also feared he might lose Beth if she knew some of the mistakes he'd made, and he wondered how long he could go, guilt-free, before feeling the need to confess and expound on those errors with her. Damned conscience. Even in his immortal life, it still lived on and haunted him.

Mick's attention was drawn to the way Beth's breaths increased, larger in depth; and his ears tuned in to her quickening heart rate. Judging by that and noticing that her eyes were moving beneath her lids, he knew she was dreaming. And, if he was right by sniffing the air and tuning into her thoughts, he knew _he_ was the subject of her dream. He smiled slightly, wishing that mind-reading was one of his superpowers. But when Beth squirmed and moaned his name, he had an idea what she was fantasizing. Letting go of her hand, he brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen across her face, when she grabbed his hand, kissed his palm, and pulled her body closer to his.

With her snuggled up against him, Mick closed his eyes and inhaled her scent, being reminded once more of their interaction throughout the night. Burying her face against his neck, she began to place light kisses there, and he realized she was waking up.

"Mmhm… You smell funny," she suddenly mumbled against his skin, making him chuckle.

"Yeah," he admitted, knowing exactly why. "That's kind of why I need a freezer. It helps slow the decay."

She pulled away, still holding the back of his head, and peered at him in the dark, blinking her sleepy eyes up at him. "That's the smell of decay?" Her words slurred slightly in fatigue.

"Yeah," he replied disappointedly, hating having to confess something so…disgusting. "I _could_ take a cold shower to help get rid of the smell. Does it bother you?"

She squinted, wrinkling her nose up in that adorable way he loved. "If I say yes, will it hurt your feelings?"

"No," he said, adding a chuckle, but his tone of voice told her that it did, just a little.

"It's not that it bothers me all that much," she tried to explain. "It's just that every morning, I wake up nauseated and unusual smells—"

"I get it," Mick interjected, truly understanding her. He stroked her cheek and suggested, "Why don't you get some more sleep and I'll go get cleaned up and come back?"

"Okay," she smiled. And before he could get away, she held his arm fast to keep him from getting away. "I love you."

Leaning over to kiss her again, he beamed. "I know. I love you too, Beth."


	9. Chapter 8: New Beginnings

A/N: Hello, my friends! Before I give you the next chapter, I have to say thank you so much for your patience with me in updating this story. I had no idea that RL stress would cause my muse to leave me, even when I DID find the time to write. I actually had this one mostly written before my writer's block kicked in, but I'm happy to say that I'm already halfway into the next chapter as well. So, fingers crossed, it shouldn't be TOO long before the next update.

Smooches to **coffeebean news **(on LJ) for the beta! Thanks again for reading! And enjoy!!

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**Chapter 8: **New Beginnings

The filtered rays of the rising sun began to spill in through the windows by the time Mick was through with his shower. Instead of drying off, he stepped out onto his towel and stood naked in his bathroom, hoping that allowing his body to air-dry under the A/C vent would help simulate a freezer. But he knew that this ritual wouldn't suffice for every day; he would need to acquire another unit and soon. He couldn't keep subjecting Beth to his unusual scent night after night, especially with her current condition, and sleeping in such close proximity. Most of the time, he didn't have to worry about it, since sleeping in a freezer kept the scent to such a minimum that other vampires were the only ones that could even detect it. But the fact of the matter was that it was just another facet of his existence, and it was only noticeable to humans if he'd been away from his freezer for a while _and _they were close enough to him to smell it. Beth had been the unfortunate victim of both of those factors this morning.

The door suddenly burst open and Beth, dressed in a robe, practically ran in, straight over to the toilet, where she knelt and hugged it just in time to heave her guts out. Mick panicked, grabbed his towel from the floor for cover, and rushed to her side. He felt powerless, and yet, he knew that it was all part of the miracle of life and there was nothing he could do to help her. So, he just knelt beside her, pulled her hair back, and placed his hand on her in silent support until she was through.

After a minute or two, she sat back on her heels, looking very pale. Her face was wrenched in a grimace, but it appeared that the vomiting had passed. "Feel a little better?" he gently asked.

Keeping her eyes closed, she nodded. "I made the mistake of letting my feet hit the floor," she joked. "I barely got my robe on before I knew I was going to…" She groaned from deep within, "God, I hate this."

Mick gently smiled. "Well, it won't last forever," he assured her. "Just remember that."

She peeked out at him through one eye and questioned, "Oh yeah? Then how long _does_ it last, hot shot?"

He shrugged. "I think it ceases after the first trimester." When he'd gone through his medical training to be a field medic back in the military, he'd thought it was ridiculous that he had to learn the basics of pregnancy and childbirth. After all, he figured, when would soldiers ever use that knowledge? But he was silently thanking the Army for that now. Looking at Beth presently, though, he knew that vague answer was not going to be enough. He rubbed her back again. "We'll get some books."

"Good idea," she nodded, chuckling, leaning into his shoulder. "Ugh," she whined. "This baby is no bigger than a grain of rice, and already he's kicking my butt."

He laughed with her, but it did bring up a question in his mind. "I wonder what we're having. I mean, boy or girl," he clarified, anticipating some sarcastic remark from her.

She nuzzled his neck. "Mmm," she mumbled, "I want a boy that looks just like you."

"That's funny. I was thinking I'd like to have a girl like you."

"No way," she shook her head as best she could, given her position with her head on his shoulder. "I was a lot of trouble for my mother. I can't imagine having a little me."

He kissed her hair and lightly argued, "I could."

Thoughtfully, she tilted her head up to look at him. "Will that be weird for you, if we have a girl, when she's four like I was when we met?"

"No," he honestly didn't think so. Then he added, "Other than being head-over-heels in love with her, like I am with her mother. But that's a good thing for a father to be, right?"

Beth smiled and bit her lip. "Yeah." Then she narrowed her eyes, studying him.

"What?" he finally had to know.

She almost didn't want to admit what she was thinking. "I…just… I can totally picture you as a 'daddy'," she grinned. Then her smile faded a touch. "It's weird. I honestly thought for a few days that I'd be going through all of this alone."

He pulled her against him, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry," he tried once more.

"No," she said, sitting up on her own power. "Stop apologizing." She touched his face and gazed at him. "I'm only saying that I'm glad that I'm not completely inexperienced _and_ going through it all by myself."

Mick started to chuckle with her when she suddenly covered her mouth with one hand and said, "And I just realized how horrible my breath must smell right now, so before we kiss and make up, I think I'll brush my teeth."

His reply was a laugh as he stood and helped her to her feet.

By mid-morning, Mick was just starting to think about getting back to life as it used to be. He'd begun to look through his files and figure out if there was some way to repair the damaged relationships with his clients he'd had open cases with when he disappeared. Sighing when he came across John Wyler's file, he knew that was surely a ship that had long sailed away. It had been almost two months, and since Wyler had been so desperate to have his security system installed, he surely would've gone with another P.I. by now. But Mick knew he still owed the man an apology along with a return of Wyler's deposit that must be demanded in the stack of mail he had yet to go through. Thankfully, he'd always paid his apartment rent a year at a time, and the utilities were included; otherwise, he and Beth would've had nowhere to live as well, since his other bills had gone unpaid.

There was a knock at his door a second before Josef entered, and greeted with a silly grin, "Oh, good, you're up."

"Josef," Mick smirked his hello. "I'm just as surprised to see you out of your freezer this time of day."

"Yeah, well, I figured that this would be the only time I could catch you." He glanced into Mick's apartment through the adjoining door. "Where's, uh, Beth?"

Mick stood to walk around the desk. "Still asleep," he said and almost regretted it when he saw Josef's face light up. He held up a hand and tried again, "We didn't get much sleep last night—"

"All right," Josef cheered, sliding his hands into his pockets and rocking back on his heels.

"Ha ha," he mocked, walking over to make sure to close the door to his apartment to keep from waking Beth. "Just go ahead and get it over with," he gestured with a wave of his hand, expecting Josef to want to dig a bit deeper.

"So, you worked things out, then?" Josef appeased and Mick nodded. "And? How was it?" He lowered his tone a notch. "Everything you expected?"

Mick went with total honesty, but couldn't do so without smiling slightly. "Better." Walking over to the couch, he plopped down on the cushions. "We just decided not to think about what's going to happen a few years down the road."

"That's good," Josef commended as he turned one of Mick's clients' chairs around to sit down as well, noticing that Mick's tone didn't seem to concur with his words. "Something tells me you're not completely convinced."

Looking away, Mick figured that if he could be candid with anyone, it was Josef. "I just…" he pursed his lips. "I don't know how wise it is to sit around in a state of denial while the clock is ticking, you know?"

"You don't think Beth realizes that, too?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "I think she just doesn't want to waste a moment we could be together with an argument as to why we shouldn't be."

Josef leaned back and crossed his legs, thinking. "So, come up with a solution," he offered lightly.

Mick almost glared at him. "You got one in your back pocket?"

"Well," he clicked his tongue thoughtfully as his eyes lifted to the ceiling. "Let's see… You can't become human again, unless by some miracle Coraline escapes her brothers, _with_ the cure, and offers it to you a second time," Josef rationalized, and then realized, "Wait. Didn't you keep a sample of your human blood?"

"Yeah," Mick nodded. "But I'd had Coraline's blood tested and since there was nothing out of the ordinary found, I doubt I'd be able to recreate it. Coraline admitted that it was an herbal compound, and it was only temporary anyway, so…what would be the point?"

"Right," his friend deadpanned, "And we both know how much you despised that 'temporary' cure to begin with."

Mick did glare at him this time. "All I'm saying is that I'd rather spend my time trying to figure out a permanent solution instead of wasting my energy on one I _know_ won't last." He cast his head down. "And I've…I've decided to give up trying to find a way to become mortal again, anyway."

Josef's look expressed his shared sadness and grief for his friend's resignation, but after a moment, it came as expected with a touch of teasing. "Good. It's about time." He half-grinned. "Too bad you're not willing to try turning Beth, because you have the baby to worry about now, but…would you ever do it?"

Mick's expression clearly answered his question, so it was unnecessary for him to reply verbally, although he did. "No. And she wouldn't want it either."

"So…" Josef sighed, standing up from his chair. "You can't both be human, you don't want her to become a vampire," he tapped his lips with his fingertip. He spun to face Mick. "I guess you could say, no, I don't have an answer."

"Thanks, Josef, you're a lot of help," Mick replied sarcastically. "So, is there another reason for this visit, other than reminding me that Beth and I are doomed?"

"Actually, yes," he said, wandering toward the desk to toy with the various items he found there as he spoke. He picked up a pen and busied his hands with twisting the ballpoint in and out of its barrel. It was obvious he didn't want to bring up whatever it is he needed to discuss with Mick. And he soon found out why. "I actually have some…information…about the occupants of the car that shot at you."

"What?" Mick exclaimed with a chuckle, sitting up straight. "Since when?"

Josef peered at the ceiling and slid his hands in his pockets. "Since…about six hours before you were shot."

Mick stood up in shock, feeling anger starting to build up. "You mean that you knew _before_—"

"Relax," Josef interrupted with a hand held up between them. "I didn't know that you were their next target. Don't stake the messenger, alright?"

Shaking his head, Mick had to know. "Well, why didn't you tell me?"

"I was going to. Remember, I called you?" Thinking back to that fateful day and remembering his friend's phone call when he teased him about his impetuous marriage, Mick nodded once in reply, allowing Josef to continue. "You and Beth had just eloped – I wasn't going to bog you down with work _or _vampire business."

The younger vamp's eyes narrowed. "You're saying that the shooting was vamp related?"

Josef smacked his lips again. "Yeah," he mumbled disappointedly. "I'd heard an unconfirmed rumor – or at least it was unconfirmed until you were shot – that there was an unusual group of vigilantes out there. They were exposing vamps in front of humans by shooting them in public places."

"Why the hell would they do that, and risk exposing themsel—"

"They're not vamps."

It suddenly clicked in Mick's mind and he lowered his body back down to the couch in distress. "Hunters?"

Josef nodded, pursing his mouth into a thin line. "Since then, I've had my guys searching for them, but after your shooting, they seemed to have disappeared. My guys haven't been able to catch them."

"So, they're not after the vampires that exist in the traditional way; they're after the ones like us that live and work and mingle among the humans in the daylight," Mick realized.

Nodding silently, Josef concurred. "Guess we all have to start watching our backs."

"We should put out a warning to the others."

"Already done," he revealed. "It's a long list, but word is traveling fast."

"Good," he bobbed his head when they both heard a noise from the other room. Mick jumped to his feet and rushed over to the door to open it and check on Beth. Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, she was opening a fresh bottle of water from the refrigerator, and greeted him with a smile when she saw him emerge from the office. "Hey," he smiled back at her, walking straight toward the kitchen to kiss her in greeting. After sharing that kiss, he stroked her arm and asked cordially, "Sleep okay?"

"Oh yeah," she stated emphatically. "I probably could've slept for another hour like the lazy bum that I feel, except I got a phone call that woke me up."

Covering his face with his hand, Mick apologized. "I meant to bring your phone downstairs with me so you could sleep, and I forgot it."

"No, it's fine," she was quick to assure him as she rested her arm on the island counter. "It was actually a…" her face wrenched in curiosity, "a job offer."

He shared her surprise. "What?"

"Yeah, that was my reaction, too. I'm supposed to meet with the guy that took Josh's place at the DA's office. Ben…Talbot, I think his name is."

He started to ask if she knew what the offer was when she caught a glimpse of Josef over Mick's shoulder and realized they weren't alone. "Hey, Josef," she said with a friendly tone and a smile. "What are you doing here so early in the day?"

Mick answered for him, "Actually, Josef's here on business."

"Business?" It clicked in her mind and then on her face. "Vampire business?"

"Sort of," her husband replied. "He had some information about the guys that shot at me."

"Oh, the tan Thunderbird?" She looked to Josef, but received stunned expressions from both of them.

Mick found his voice first. "You know the make of the car?"

"Yeah," she shrugged one shoulder. "It was the story I was working on that day; Mo called me and told me that the car was spotted in your shooting – that's how I knew you were probably hurt."

"That's right," Josef recalled, coming closer to the couple. "She knew you'd been shot and the location when she called me, asking for my help to find you."

Mick shuffled his feet, thinking. "What do you know about the car and the other shootings?" he asked his wife.

"Not much," she replied. "They were spotted in Seattle and four other cities across the northwest for about six months, involved in at least six shootings, including yours, and then they just…disappeared. Why is this coming up now?" she asked the two men. "Are you looking for revenge?"

"Not exactly," Mick answered. "Apparently, they're hunters." He glanced at Josef for confirmation. "We're going to have to find them and stop them."

Mick could tell by Beth's sigh that she was not in complete approval of his decision. But to his surprise, she was optimistic. "Well, if I do get this job," she said, twisting the lid back onto her water bottle, "then I might actually be in a position to help you guys out with that."

* * *

Phones were ringing off the hook as Beth walked into the District Attorney's office. She didn't bother having to ask where Talbot's office was located; she was sure he'd been given Josh's old office. In fact, considering the tightfistedness of the government, she knew he was most likely using Josh's desk, chair, and other furniture as well. She even wouldn't put it past them to have the same law books on his shelves and decorations on his walls.

Sure enough, Josh's old office door held a new nameplate that had Benjamin Talbot's name engraved on it, so Beth knocked. After hearing a male voice telling her to come in, she opened the door and greeted, "Mr. Talbot?" He nodded without looking up from whatever he was writing, so she stepped one foot into the room. "I'm Beth Turner – you called me this morning, wanted to meet with me?"

When his head lifted and he gave her his attention, Beth got her first real look at the man. Dressed in a classy, navy blue suit with a politician's red, printed tie, Talbot stood up and smiled, buttoning one button on his jacket, as if merely out of habit. "Oh, Miss Turner," he spoke and rounded the desk to extend his hand. "Nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"Oh?" she shifted uncomfortably on her feet as she shook his hand. "Good things?"

"Mostly," he grinned like an underwear model and Beth secretly wondered if he'd ever been one. "Lieutenant Davis has said that your only bad quality is being at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Her chest rumbled with a chuckle. "Yeah, that sounds like something Carl would say. But I bet he meant that I'm usually at the right place at the _right_ time, asking the right questions. You know how it gets under the cops' skin when the reporters know as much as they do."

"Yes," Talbot smirked. "He did warn me about your spunk." He stepped back and gestured to the couch. "Please, come in, have a seat."

She did sit as Talbot closed the door and then pulled over one of his guest chairs and turned it to face her, where he sat down. "So," she tried to break the ice as they got settled. "What's this job offer?"

"Well," he began on an exhale, getting comfortable in his seat and clasping his hands between his knees. "I've only been here a couple of months, but I've run across your name more than half a dozen times. It seems you've been instrumental in the capture of your fair share of criminals."

"Oh," she grinned proudly, "thanks. But I didn't do it alone. I…had help."

"Yes," he agreed, reaching for a file on his desk. "I know my predecessor, Josh Lindsay, worked with you on several cases, as well as this P.I.," he checked the file, "Mick St. John?"

Beth felt heat rising to her face, wondering if she should say something about the fact that that particular P.I. was now her husband. But she was afraid that Talbot might know more than he was letting on about her association with Josh, and the timing of the two relationships would seem…odd. "Yes…" she replied slowly, deciding to go with a noncommittal answer, until she knew exactly what he knew.

"What can you tell me about him?" he asked, leaning back in his chair, and Beth suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"Who, Mick?" she stalled, posing the question with a bit of incredulity. When Talbot nodded, staring at her with an uneasy, yet knowledgeable, smile, Beth queried instead, "What, is he under investigation? What does he have to do with my job offer?"

"Oh, nothing, really," Talbot stated easily. "I'm just…curious as to how much you've worked with him."

"Oh," she muttered, studying his expression for truthfulness. "Well, he's a well-established Private Investigator; I met him at a crime scene about a year ago, and since we worked well together once, we…kept it up."

Talbot agreed, "Yeah, the cases you two solved were pretty…impressive." Consulting the file, he left it open on his lap and wondered, "There were a couple that had some pretty strange conclusions—"

This conversation was making her increasingly nervous. "I hate to change the subject, but can we get back to the job offer, please?" she purposely interrupted. "I have a busy day ahead of me, as I'm sure you do."

His eyes focused on her for a moment before he nodded and closed the file. "Well, despite the few inconsistencies in your reports and the unusual outcomes, I have to say that I've been pretty impressed by your investigating skills. If you're interested, I'd like to hire you as a civilian investigator. You'd work exclusively for me; there are no set hours, but that means that you'd have to be available day or night."

"I think I could handle that, but…I'm not a cop," she warned.

"Yeah, but you have instincts, and that counts for a lot more than training and experience. Take some time to think about it and give me a call," he spoke, standing up. Sure that he was concluding the meeting, she stretched to her full height as well, and he passed her a business card from his desktop. "Thanks for coming by, Miss Turner."

"Beth," she corrected. It didn't seem right to still go by her maiden name, even though she did live in a modern world. But she wasn't ready to confess to Talbot her new last name either, since he seemed to be overly interested in Mick as it was.

Talbot smiled once more and countered, "You can call me 'Ben'."


End file.
